Ezra 8:20-30
New American Standard Bible
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.
28Then I said to them, 'You are holy to the Lord, and the utensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a voluntary offering to the Lord God of your fathers.
29Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leading priests, the Levites, and the leaders of the fathers’ households of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.'
30So the priests and the Levites accepted the weight of silver and gold and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.
King James Version
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 counsellors, 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.
28And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the Lord; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the Lord God of your fathers.
29Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.
Christian Standard Bible
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.
28Then I said to them, "You are holy to the Lord, and the articles are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers.
29Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the Lord’s house before the leading priests, Levites, and heads of the Israelite families in Jerusalem."
30So the priests and Levites took charge of the silver, the gold, and the articles that had been weighed out, to bring them to the house of our God in Jerusalem.
New Living Translation
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.
24I appointed twelve leaders of the priests — Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten other priests —
25to be in charge of transporting the silver, the gold, the gold bowls, and the other items that the king, his council, his officials, and all the people of Israel had presented for the Temple of God.
26I weighed the treasure as I gave it to them and found the totals to be as follows: 24 tons of silver, 7,500 pounds of silver articles, 7,500 pounds of gold,
2720 gold bowls, equal in value to 1,000 gold coins, 2 fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold.
28And I said to these priests, 'You and these treasures have been set apart as holy to the Lord. This silver and gold is a voluntary offering to the Lord, the God of our ancestors.
29Guard these treasures well until you present them to the leading priests, the Levites, and the leaders of Israel, who will weigh them at the storerooms of the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem.'
30So the priests and the Levites accepted the task of transporting these treasures of silver and gold to the Temple of our God in Jerusalem.
English Standard Version
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.
28And I said to them, "You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers.
29Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers ' houses in Israel at Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house of the Lord."
30So the priests and the Levites took over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.
New International Version
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.
28I said to them, "You as well as these articles are consecrated to the Lord. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your ancestors.
29Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem before the leading priests and the Levites and the family heads of Israel."
30Then the priests and Levites received the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem.
New King James Version
21Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.
22For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God 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 entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.
24And I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them—
25and weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the articles, the offering for the house of our God which the king and his counselors and his princes, and all Israel who were present, had offered.
26I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, silver articles weighing one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold,
27twenty gold basins worth a thousand drachmas, and two vessels of fine polished bronze, precious as gold.
28And I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord; the articles are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers.
29Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.”
30So the priests and the Levites received the silver and the gold and the articles by weight, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.
