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.8:18 Israel is the name that God gave to Jacob.

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 horsemen8:22 Or charioteers. 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:

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.

31We broke camp at the Ahava Canal on April 198:31 Hebrew on the twelfth day of the first month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day was April 19, 458 b.c.; also see note on 6:15. and started off to Jerusalem. And the gracious hand of our God protected us and saved us from enemies and bandits along the way.

32So we arrived safely in Jerusalem, where we rested for three days.

33On the fourth day after our arrival, the silver, gold, and other valuables were weighed at the Temple of our God and entrusted to Meremoth son of Uriah the priest and to Eleazar son of Phinehas, along with Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui—both of whom were Levites.

34Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the total weight was officially recorded.

35Then the exiles who had come out of captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel. They presented twelve bulls for all the people of Israel, as well as ninety-six rams and seventy-seven male lambs. They also offered twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was given as a burnt offering to the Lord.

36The king’s decrees were delivered to his highest officers and the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River,8:36 Hebrew the province beyond the river. who then cooperated by supporting the people and the Temple of God.