The Exiles Who Returned

¹These now are the people of the province who came from those captive exiles King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had deported to Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town.[#2:1–70 Neh 7:6–73; #2:1 Nebuchadnezzar reigned 605–562 BC; #2:1 2Ch 36:17–20]

²They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.[#2:2 1Ch 3:19; Ezr 3:2; Hg 1:1; Zch 4:6; #2:2 Hg 1:1; Zch 3:1–10; #2:2 Neh 12:1]

The number of the Israelite men included

³⁶The priests included

⁴⁰The Levites included

⁴¹The singers included

⁴²The gatekeepers’ descendants included[#2:42 1Ch 9:17–32; Neh 12:25–26]

⁴³The temple servants included[#2:43 Ezr 8:20]

Ziha’s descendants, Hasupha’s descendants,

Tabbaoth’s descendants,

⁴⁴Keros’s descendants,

Siaha’s descendants, Padon’s descendants,

⁴⁵Lebanah’s descendants, Hagabah’s descendants,

Akkub’s descendants,

⁴⁶Hagab’s descendants,

Shalmai’s descendants, Hanan’s descendants,

⁴⁷Giddel’s descendants, Gahar’s descendants,

Reaiah’s descendants,

⁴⁸Rezin’s descendants,

Nekoda’s descendants, Gazzam’s descendants,

⁴⁹Uzza’s descendants, Paseah’s descendants,

Besai’s descendants,

⁵⁰Asnah’s descendants,

Meunim’s descendants, Nephusim’s descendants,

⁵¹Bakbuk’s descendants, Hakupha’s descendants,

Harhur’s descendants,

⁵²Bazluth’s descendants,

Mehida’s descendants, Harsha’s descendants,

⁵³Barkos’s descendants, Sisera’s descendants,

Temah’s descendants,

⁵⁴Neziah’s descendants,

and Hatipha’s descendants.

⁵⁵The descendants of Solomon’s servants included[#2:55 Neh 11:3]

⁵⁹The following are those who came from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer but were unable to prove that their ancestral families and their lineage were Israelite:[#2:59 Lit that the house of their fathers]

⁶¹and from the descendants of the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, the descendants of Barzillai #– #who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and who bore their name.

⁶²These searched for their entries in the genealogical records, but they could not be found, so they were disqualified from the priesthood.

⁶³The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest who could consult the Urim and Thummim.[#2:63 Ezr 6:7; Neh 5:14; Hg 1:1; #2:63 Ex 28:30; Lv 8:8; Nm 27:21; Neh 7:65]

Gifts for the Work

⁶⁸After they arrived at the Lord ’s house in Jerusalem, some of the family heads gave freewill offerings for the house of God in order to have it rebuilt on its original site.[#2:68 Nm 15:3; Ezr 1:4]

⁶⁹Based on what they could give, they gave 61,000 gold coins, 3 tonnes of silver, and 100 priestly garments to the treasury for the project.[#2:69 Or drachmas , or darics; #2:69 Lit 5,000 minas; #2:69 Ezr 8:33–34]

⁷⁰The priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants, and some of the people settled in their towns, and the rest of Israel settled in their towns.[#2:70 1Ch 9:2; Neh 11:3]