Nehemiah 8 (EHV)

1 When the seventh month came and the Israelites were in their cities, [1] all the people gathered together at the public square that is in front of the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. 2 So on the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the Law before the congregation, both men and women and all who were able to understand what they heard. 3 From dawn until midday in front of the public square in front of the Water Gate, he read from the scroll, while facing the men, the women, and those who could understand. All the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. 4 Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that was made for the occasion. Beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Ma’aseiah on his right, and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

5 All the people could see Ezra as he opened the scroll, because he was elevated above all the people. As he opened the scroll, all the people stood. 6 Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen! Amen!” while they lifted up their hands and then knelt and bowed down with their faces to the ground.

7 Jeshua and Bani and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Ma’aseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the rest of the Levites helped the people understand the Law, while the people remained standing in their places. 8 So they read from the Book of the Law of God clearly and interpreted it, and the people understood what was read. [2]

9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites, who helped the people understand, said to all the people, “Today is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or cry!” because all the people were crying as they heard the words of the Law. 10 Nehemiah said to them, “Go, eat rich food and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, because today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

11 Then the Levites silenced all the people, saying, “Hush! Today is holy. Do not grieve.”

12 All the people went to eat and drink and to send portions to others and to celebrate with great joy, because they understood the words that had been made known to them.

13 Now on the second day, the heads of the families of all the people, the priests, and the Levites were gathered around Ezra the scribe to study the words of the Law. 14 They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses, that the Israelites should dwell in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month, 15 and that they should proclaim this and make this announcement in all their cities and in Jerusalem: “Go out to the mountains and bring branches from olive trees, wild olive trees, myrtle bushes, date palms, and leafy trees to make shelters, as it is written.”

16 So the people went out and brought branches and made shelters for themselves. Each man made a shelter on his roof. They also made shelters in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the house of God, in the square by the Water Gate, and in the square by the Ephraim Gate. 17 The entire congregation that had returned from the captivity made shelters and stayed in the shelters. From the days of Joshua [3] son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated in this way, because there was very great joy. 18 Ezra also read from the Book of the Law of God every day of the festival, from the first day to the last day. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an assembly according to the ordinance.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Nehemiah 7 (EHV)

1 When the wall had been built and I had installed the doors, and when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, 2 I placed my brother Hanani along with Hananiah, the commander of the citadel, in charge of Jerusalem, because he was a trustworthy man and feared God more than many. 3 I [1] said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem should not be left open until the heat of the day, but while the guards are still on duty, they are to shut the doors and secure them. Appoint guards from the residents of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their houses.”

4 Now the city was wide open and spacious, but there were few people in it, and no houses were being built. 5 So my God placed into my heart a plan to gather the nobles, the officials, and the people so they could be enrolled by genealogy. I found the genealogical record of those who were the first to come up from Babylon. I found this written in it:

6 These are the people [2] of the province who went up from the captivity of the exiles, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had exiled. They returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each man to his city. 7 These were the people who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Ra’amiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Ba’anah. [3]

This was the number of men from the people of Israel: [4]

43 The Levites:

46 The temple servants:

57 The descendants of the servants of Solomon:

60 The total of the temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants was 392.

61 The following are the people who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer. They were not to prove their ancestry or descent—whether they were from Israel:

62 the descendants of Delaiah, the descendants of Tobiah, the descendants of Nekoda: 642,

64 These people searched for their genealogical records, but they could not find them, so they were disqualified from the priesthood. 65 The governor told them that they should not eat from the most holy sacrifices until a priest would arise who could serve with Urim and Thummim.

66 The entire assembly together totaled 42,360, 67 not counting their male slaves and their female slaves, who numbered 7,337. They also had 245 [11] male and female singers. 68 They had 736 horses, 245 mules, [12] 69 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

70 Some of the heads of the families gave support for the work.

73 The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, and the temple servants, that is, all Israel, settled in their cities.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Nehemiah 6 (EHV)

1 When it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and there was no breach left in it (although at that time I had not installed doors in the gates), 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me: “Come, let’s meet together in Kephirim [1] in the Plain of Ono.” (However, they were planning to harm me.)

3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am working on an important project, and I am not able to come down. Why should the project stop while I leave it and come down to you?” 4 They sent messages like this to me four times, and I answered them that same way each time.

5 Then Sanballat sent his servant to me with a message like this for a fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. 6 In it was written, “It is rumored among the nations, and Gashmu [2] also says that you and the Jews are planning to rebel. This is the reason you are building the wall. According to these reports, you will be their king. 7 You have also set up prophets to make a proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘A king is in Judah.’ Now reports like these will be heard by the king. So now come, let us consult with one another.”

8 So I sent a reply to him: “These things that you are saying have not been done, since you are simply making them up.”

9 So all of them were trying to intimidate us, thinking, “Their hands will grow weary of the work, and it will not be finished.”

So now, strengthen my hands!

10 Then I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel. (He was restricted.) He said, “Let’s meet at the house of God in the middle of the temple. Let’s close the doors of the temple, since they are coming to kill you—at night they are coming to kill you.”

11 I said, “Should a man like me flee? Should someone like me go to the temple to save my life? I won’t go!” 12 I realized that God had not sent him, but he had spoken the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this purpose he was hired—to make me afraid so that I would do this and sin. Then they would have given me a bad reputation, so that they could discredit me.

14 My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat in light of these actions and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who were trying to intimidate me. [3]

15 So the wall was finished in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth of Elul. 16 As all our enemies heard about it, all the nations that were around us became afraid and lost their confidence. They knew that this work had been accomplished by our God.

17 Furthermore, in those days the nobles of Judah were sending many letters to Tobiah, and letters from Tobiah were coming to them, 18 because many in Judah were bound to him by oath because he was the son-in-law of Shekaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. 19 They were also talking about his good deeds in my presence, and they were reporting my words to him. Tobiah was sending letters to try to intimidate me.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Nehemiah 5 (EHV)

1 Now there was a great outcry by the people and their wives against their fellow Jews. 2 There were those who were saying, “We and our sons and our daughters are many! We need to acquire grain so that we can eat and stay alive.” 3 There were others who were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, vineyards, and houses so that we can acquire grain during the famine.” 4 There were others who were saying, “We borrowed money to pay the royal tax on our fields and vineyards. 5 Although our flesh is the same as the flesh of our countrymen, and our children are as good as their children, we must subject our sons and our daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we have no power to prevent it, since our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

6 It infuriated me when I heard their outcry and these words. 7 My heart guided me, and I accused the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “Each of you is loaning money at interest to his brother Israelite.”

I called for a large meeting to deal with them. 8 I said to them, “As much as possible, we have bought back our fellow Judeans who have been sold to the Gentiles, and yet, you sell your countrymen so that they can be resold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say.

9 So I said, “What you are doing is not good. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God because of the ridicule from the Gentiles, who are our enemies? 10 In addition, I, my brothers, and my servants are lending them money and grain. I urge you. Let’s abandon the practice of charging this interest. 11 I urge you. Today give them back their fields, their vineyards, their olive trees, their homes, and the money they were charged as interest, also the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil for which you have been charging them.”

12 They said, “We will give it back, and we will not seek anything else from them. In this way we will do what you say.”

So I called the priests and made them swear to act according to this promise. 13 I also shook out the folds of my garment and said, “In this way may God shake out from his home and from his property every man who does not keep this promise. May he be shaken out and emptied in this way.”

The entire assembly said, “Amen,” and they praised the Lord. Then the people kept this promise.

14 In addition, from the day that he appointed me to be the governor of the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes—twelve years—I and my brothers did not eat the governor’s food allowance.

15 However, the previous governors who served before me had placed a heavy burden on the people. They took food and wine from them—valued at forty silver shekels. [1] Even the lower officials lorded over the people. But because of the fear of God, I did not do this. 16 In addition, I dedicated myself to the work on this wall (although we had acquired no land), and all of my servants were gathered there for the work. 17 Moreover, at my table there were one hundred fifty Judeans and officials, and others who came to us from the nations around us. 18 Whatever was prepared for each day was at my expense: one ox, six choice sheep, and some birds, and every ten days plenty of every kind of wine. But even with this, I still did not requisition the governor’s food allowance, because the required service weighed heavily on this people.

19 Remember me, my God, for good, considering all that I have done for this people.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Nehemiah 4 (EHV)

1 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, it infuriated him, and he became very angry. He ridiculed the Jews 2 and said in front of his allies [2] and the army of Samaria, “What are those pathetic Jews doing? Will they restore [3] it by themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in one day? Will they refurbish the stones that came from the piles of rubble that have been burned?”

3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him. He said, “Whatever they are building, if even a fox climbed on it, it would break apart the wall made from their stones.”

4 Listen, O our God, because we are an object of contempt. Turn their ridicule back on their own heads. Hand them over as plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not cover over their guilt, and may their sin not be blotted out before you, because they have provoked your anger in the presence of the builders. [4]

6 So we built the wall, and the entire wall was completed, up to half its height, because the people were determined to do it.

7 Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people of Ashdod heard that the repair of Jerusalem’s walls had progressed and the breaches had begun to be filled, they were infuriated. 8 So all of them conspired to come to attack Jerusalem and to throw it into confusion. 9 However, we prayed to our God, and because of the enemies, we posted a guard over the builders day and night.

10 Then the people of Judah said, “The strength of those bearing the burden is failing. There is so much rubble. We will not be able to build the wall!”

11 Then our adversaries said, “They will not know about it or realize what we are doing, until we come among them and kill them and bring the work to a halt.”

12 When the Jews who lived near them came, they repeatedly told us, “No matter which way you turn, they will be upon us.” [5] 13 So I stationed people behind the wall at the lowest places, at its open spots. I stationed the people by clans with their swords, spears, and bows. 14 Then I looked and got up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and fearsome. So fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

15 When our enemies heard that their plan was known to us and that God had frustrated their strategy, all of us returned to the wall, each man to his own work. 16 From that day on, half of the young men who were serving under me were doing the work, and half of them were holding shields, spears, and bows and wearing armor. The officers were stationed behind the whole house of Judah. 17 The people who were building the wall and those who were carrying the materials for building were doing their work with one hand, while the other hand held a weapon. 18 As they built, the builders were armed, each man with his sword on his hip. The man who sounded the ram’s horn was next to me.

19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “There is a lot of work, and it is spread out, and we are separated along the wall—all the people are far away from each other. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, gather with us at that spot. Our God will fight for us.”

21 So we continued to work with half of the people holding spears, from the crack of dawn until the stars came out. 22 Also at that time I said to the people, “Let every man and his servant spend the night in Jerusalem. They will serve as a guard for us at night, and in the daytime they will work.”

23 Neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who were behind me—none of us took off our clothes. Each man had his weapon in his hand, even when getting a drink of water. [6]

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Nehemiah 3 (EHV)

1 The high priest Eliashib and his fellow priests began to work, and they rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and installed its doors. They rebuilt the wall as far as the Tower of the Hundred. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of Hananel.

2 Next to him the men of Jericho rebuilt the wall. [1]

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Nehemiah 2 (EHV)

1 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, [1] wine was being served to the king, and I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence, 2 so the king said to me, “Why do you look sad, since you are not sick? This must be sadness in your heart.”

Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why shouldn’t I look sad when the city, the place of my ancestors’ tombs, lies in ruins, and its gates have been consumed by fire?”

4 Then the king said to me, “What do you want?”

So I prayed to the God of Heaven, 5 and I said to the king, “If it seems good to the king, and if you look upon your servant with favor, then send me to Judah, to the city where my ancestors’ tombs are, and let me rebuild it.”

6 The king said to me, while the queen was sitting next to him, “How long will your journey be and when will you return?”

The king was pleased to send me, so I gave him a definite time. 7 I also said to the king, “If it seems good to the king, please give me letters for the governors of Trans-Euphrates, [2] so that they will grant me safe passage through that province until I come to Judah, 8 also a letter to Asaph, superintendent of the king’s forest, so that he will give me lumber to lay beams for the gates of the citadel of the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” The king gave them to me, because the good hand of my God was upon me.

9 Then I came to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, and I gave them the king’s letters. The king had sent army officers and cavalry with me.

10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official [3] heard about this, they were very upset that a man had come to seek the welfare of the Israelites.

11 So I arrived at Jerusalem and was there for three days. 12 At that time I got up in the middle of the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what God had placed into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me except the animal on which I was riding. 13 At night I went out through the Valley Gate and went toward the vicinity of the Jackal Well [4] and the Dung Gate. I began inspecting the walls of Jerusalem, which had been breached, and its gates, which had been consumed by fire. 14 Then I crossed over to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no place for the animal that I was riding to get through. 15 So I kept going up the valley and inspecting the wall during the night. Then I turned around and went back the same way and came in through the Valley Gate.

16 The officials did not know where I had gone and what I was doing. I had not yet told the Jews—the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the rest of the people who would be doing the work. 17 So I said to them, “You see the very bad situation we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned. Come, let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be disgraced.” 18 Then I told them that the hand of my God had been good to me, and I also told them the words the king had said to me.

They said, “Let’s get up and rebuild!” Then they encouraged each other for this good work.

19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they ridiculed us and held us in contempt. They said, “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

20 I responded to them by saying, “The God of Heaven will make us successful. We, his servants, will rise up and rebuild. But you have no portion or right or heritage in Jerusalem.”

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Nehemiah 1 (EHV)

1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah.

In the month of Kislev of the twentieth year, I was in Susa, the citadel. [1] 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, [2] came to me with men from Judah. I asked them about the remnant of the Jews, who had survived the captivity and had escaped from it, and about Jerusalem.

3 They said to me, “The survivors from the captivity who are there in the province are in great misery and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned.”

4 When I heard about these things, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of Heaven. [3] 5 I said:

Please, Lord, the God of Heaven, the great and awe-inspiring God, who preserves the covenant and faithfulness for those who love him and keep his commands: 6 Let your ear be attentive and your eyes be open as you hear the prayer of your servant today, which I am now praying before you day and night, concerning the Israelites, who are your servants. I am also confessing the sins of the people of Israel that we committed against you. I and my father’s house have also sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you, and we have not kept the commands, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances that you commanded Moses your servant.

8 Please remember the command you gave to Moses your servant when you said, “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples. 9 But when you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, even if you have been scattered to the end of heaven, from there I will gather them, and I will bring them to the place where I have chosen to make my name dwell.” [4] 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed with your great power and your mighty hand.

11 Please, my Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayers of your servants who are delighted to revere your name. Make your servant successful today, and give him mercy in this man’s presence.

I was cupbearer [5] to the king.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Ezra 9 – 10 (EHV)

1 Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, who live according to their detestable practices—the practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. 2 They have taken wives from their daughters for themselves and for their sons. They have thereby mixed the holy seed with the peoples of the lands, and the leaders and officials have taken the lead in this unfaithfulness!”

3 Then when I heard about this situation, I tore my clothing and my robe, and I pulled out some of the hair on my head and my beard and sat down appalled. 4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles, was gathered around me as I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 At the time of the evening sacrifice, I arose from my self-humiliation, and with my clothing and my robe torn, I got down on my knees and stretched out my hands to the Lord my God.

6 I said:

My God, I am ashamed and too embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, because our sinful deeds [1] have risen above our heads, and our guilt is so great that it reaches to the heavens. 7 From the days of our ancestors until today, we have been extremely guilty. Because of our sinful deeds, we, our kings, and our priests have been turned over to the kings of the lands—by sword, by captivity, by plunder, and today by humiliation.

8 Now, for a short time, mercy has been shown to us from the Lord our God, in order to leave us a remnant that has escaped and to give us a stake in his Holy Place, so that our God may give light to our eyes and give us a little relief in our slavery, 9 because we are slaves. However, even in our slavery our God has not abandoned us but has extended favor to us before the kings of Persia in order to give us relief, to raise up the house of our God and to restore its ruins, and to give us a protective wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

10 Now, what can we say after this, our God? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded through your servants the prophets when you said, “The land which you are entering to possess is a land polluted with the filth of the peoples of the lands and with their detestable practices that fill it from end to end with their impurity. 12 So now, do not give your daughters to their sons, and do not take their daughters as wives for your sons. Never seek their welfare or their prosperity, so that you may be strong and may eat the good things of the land and leave it as an inheritance for your children forever.”

13 After everything that has come upon us because of our evil acts and our extreme guilt, nevertheless you, our God, have punished us less than we deserved and have given us a remnant that has escaped like this. 14 Should we break your commandments again by intermarrying with the peoples who commit these detestable practices? Wouldn’t you remain angry with us until you completely destroyed us and left us without a survivor or a remnant that has escaped?

15 Lord, God of Israel, it is because you are righteous that we are left with a remnant today. Here we are before you in our guilt, but no one can stand before you because of this.

1 Now as Ezra prayed and confessed, weeping and throwing himself down in front of the house of God, a very large crowd from Israel gathered to him, including men, women, and children. The people also wept bitterly.

2 Then Shekaniah son of Jehiel from the descendants of Elam responded to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign wives from the peoples of the land. However, now there is hope for Israel in this matter. 3 So now let us make a covenant with our God to send away all our wives and the children born to them, according to the advice of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the law. 4 Get up, because the matter is your concern, and we are with you. Be strong and take action.”

5 Then Ezra got up and required the officials among the priests, the Levites, and all Israel to take an oath that they would deal with this matter. So they took an oath.

6 Then Ezra got up and left the front of the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib and spent the night there. [2] He did not eat any food or drink any water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.

7 Then a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem for all the exiles to gather in Jerusalem. 8 According to the decision of the officials and the elders, anyone who would not come within three days would forfeit all his property, and he would be banished from the community of the exiles.

9 So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem within three days. (It was in the ninth month, [3] on the twentieth day of the month.) All the people were sitting in the public square in front of the house of God, trembling [4] because of the situation and as a result of the rains.

10 Ezra the priest arose and said to them, “You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives, thereby adding to the guilt of Israel. 11 So now, give praise to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his will—separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from your foreign wives.”

12 The entire assembly answered in a loud voice, “It is so! We must do as you have said. 13 However, there are many people, and it is the rainy season. We can’t stand around outdoors, and the business will take more than a day or two, since we have rebelled greatly in this matter. 14 Let our officers represent the entire assembly, and let everyone in our cities who has married foreign wives come at appointed times. The elders from every city and its judges should come with them, until the fierce anger of our God concerning this matter has been turned away from us.” 15 (Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supported them.)

16 So the exiles acted according to this decision. Ezra the priest and men who were the leading fathers of the fathers’ houses [5] were selected, all of them identified by name. They convened on the first day of the tenth month to investigate the matter. 17 On the first day of the first month, they finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign wives.

18 From the descendants of the priests who had married foreign wives,

From the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers they were Ma’aseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. 19 They pledged to send away their wives and to offer guilt offerings: a ram from the flock for their guilt.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Ezra 8 (EHV)

1 These are the heads of their families who went up with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes, listed according to their registration in the genealogy:

2 from the descendants of Phinehas: Gershom,

15 So I gathered them together at the canal [6] that runs to Ahava, and we camped there three days. I looked over the people and the priests who were there, but I did not find any Levites among them. 16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were teachers. 17 I sent them to Iddo, the leader serving in the place called Kasiphia, and I gave them a message to speak to Iddo and his brothers, the temple servants in the place called Kasiphia, so that they would bring us ministers for the house of our God.

18 So, since the good hand of our God was resting upon us, they brought us the following people: Sherebiah, a discerning man from the descendants of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, along with his sons and his brothers, [7] eighteen men; 19 also Hashabiah and with him Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari and his brothers and their sons, twenty men; 20 and from the temple servants whom David and the leaders appointed to the service of the Levites, two hundred twenty temple servants. All of them were registered by name.

21 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the Ahava Canal in order to humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey—for us, for our children, and for all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and cavalry to help protect us against enemies on the journey, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God rests upon all who seek him, for their good, but his power and anger are against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and we sought help from our God concerning this, and he granted our request.

24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests to be with Sherebiah and Hashabiah and ten of their brothers with them. 25 I weighed out for them the silver and the gold and the vessels—the special contribution for the house of our God, which had been contributed by the king and his advisors and officials and by all the Israelites who were present there.

26 I weighed out and placed into their hands six hundred fifty talents [8] of silver, silver vessels worth one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold, 27 and twenty gold bowls worth one thousand darics, [9] and two finely polished bronze vessels, as precious as gold.

28 Then I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy. The silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of our fathers. 29 Guard them carefully until you weigh them again in front of the leaders of the priests and Levites and the leaders of the families [10] of Israel in Jerusalem, before placing them into the storerooms of the House of the Lord.”

30 So the priests and the Levites received the full weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels in order to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

31 Then, on the twelfth day of the first month, we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of enemies and from ambushes on the way. 32 We arrived in Jerusalem and stayed there three days.

33 Then on the fourth day, in the house of our God we weighed out the silver and gold and the vessels before handing them over to Meremoth son of Uriah the priest. Also with him was Eleazar son of Phinehas, and with them were Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui, the Levites. 34 Everything was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded at that time.

35 The exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve goats for a sin offering—all offered as a burnt offering to the Lord.

36 They also delivered the king’s laws to the king’s satraps [11] and the governors of Trans-Euphrates, and they supported the people and the house of God.

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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