Ezra 8:18-27
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 8
18And as the good hand of our God was upon us, they brought us a man of insight from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, and his sons and brothers, eighteen men; 19and Hashabiah and Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty men; 20and 220 of the temple servants, whom David and the officials had provided for the service of the Levites, all of them designated by name.
21Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, to humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.
22For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, 'The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who abandon Him.'
23So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our pleading.
24Then I selected twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers;
25and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king, his counselors, his officials, and all Israel who were present there had contributed.
26So I weighed into their hands 650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth a hundred talents, and a hundred gold talents,
27and twenty gold bowls worth a thousand darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold.
King James Version
Chapter 8
18And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen; 19And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty; 20Also of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name.
21Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
22For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.
23So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.
24Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,
25And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellers, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered:
26I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels an hundred talents, and of gold an hundred talents;
27Also twenty basons of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 8
18Since the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah--a man of insight from the descendants of Mahli, a descendant of Levi son of Israel--along with his sons and brothers, 18 men, 19plus Hashabiah, along with Jeshaiah, from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and their sons, 20 men. 20There were also 220 of the temple servants, who had been appointed by David and the leaders for the work of the Levites. All were identified by name.
21I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us, our dependents, and all our possessions.
22I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, "The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his fierce anger is against all who abandon him."
23So we fasted and pleaded with our God about this, and he was receptive to our prayer.
24I selected twelve of the leading priests, along with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers.
25I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the articles--the contribution for the house of our God that the king, his counselors, his leaders, and all the Israelites who were present had offered.
26I weighed out to them 24 tons of silver, silver articles weighing 7,500 pounds, 7,500 pounds of gold,
27twenty gold bowls worth a thousand gold coins, and two articles of fine gleaming bronze, as valuable as gold.
New Living Translation
Chapter 8
18Since the gracious hand of our God was on us, they sent us a man named Sherebiah, along with eighteen of his sons and brothers. He was a very astute man and a descendant of Mahli, who was a descendant of Levi son of Israel. 19They also sent Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari, and twenty of his sons and brothers, 20and 220 Temple servants. The Temple servants were assistants to the Levites — a group of Temple workers first instituted by King David and his officials. They were all listed by name.
21And there by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled.
22For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, 'Our God’s hand of protection is on all who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him.'
23So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.
English Standard Version
Chapter 8
18And by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen, 18; 19also Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his kinsmen and their sons, 20; 20besides 220 of the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. These were all mentioned by name.
21Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.
22For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.”
23So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.
24Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them.
25And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his counselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered.
26I weighed out into their hand 650 talents of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents, and 100 talents of gold,
2720 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics, and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold.
New International Version
Chapter 8
18Because the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah, a capable man, from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel, and Sherebiah's sons and brothers, 18 in all; 19and Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and nephews, 20 in all. 20They also brought 220 of the temple servants--a body that David and the officials had established to assist the Levites. All were registered by name.
21There, 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.
22I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, 'The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.'
23So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.
24Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, namely, Sherebiah, Hashabiah and ten of their brothers,
25and I weighed out to them the offering of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his advisers, his officials and all Israel present there had donated for the house of our God.
26I weighed out to them 650 talents of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold,
2720 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 darics, and two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold.