Ezra 8:1–36

¹ These are the family heads and genealogical records of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes: ² from the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom; from the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel; from the descendants of David, Hattush ³ of the descendants of Shecaniah; from the descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered 150 men; ⁴ from the descendants of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men; ⁵ from the descendants of Zattu, Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men; ⁶ from the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men; ⁷ from the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men; ⁸ from the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him 80 men; ⁹ from the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men; ¹⁰ from the descendants of Bani, Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men; ¹¹ from the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him 28 men; ¹² from the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men; ¹³ from the later descendants of Adonikam, these were their names: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men; ¹⁴ and from the descendants of Bigvai, both Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men. ¹⁵ Now I assembled these exiles at the canal that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And when I searched among the people and priests, I found no Levites there. ¹⁶ Then I summoned the leaders: Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, as well as the teachers Joiarib and Elnathan. ¹⁷ And I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, with a message for him and his kinsmen, the temple servants at Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God. ¹⁸ And since the gracious hand of our God was upon us, they brought us Sherebiah—a man of insight from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel—along with his sons and brothers, 18 men; ¹⁹ also Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah, from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, 20 men. ²⁰ They also brought 220 of the temple servants, all designated by name. David and the officials had appointed them to assist the Levites. ²¹ And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. ²² For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from our enemies on the road, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, bu…