28. I said to the priests:You belong to the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and these things also belong to him. The silver and gold were willingly given as gifts to the Lord.
29. Be sure to guard them and keep them safe until you reach Jerusalem. Then weigh them inside God's temple in the presence of the chief priests, the Levites, and the heads of the Israelite families.
30. The priests and Levites then took charge of the gifts that had been weighed, so they could take them to the temple of our God in Jerusalem.
31. On the twelfth day of the first month, we left the River Ahava and started for Jerusalem. Our God watched over us, and as we travelled along, he kept our enemies from ambushing us.
32. After arriving in Jerusalem, we rested for three days.
33. Then on the fourth day we went to God's temple, where the silver, the gold, and the other things were weighed and given to the priest Meremoth son of Uriah. With him were Eleazar son of Phinehas and the two Levites, Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui.
34. Everything was counted, weighed, and recorded.
35. Those who had returned from exile offered sacrifices on the altar to the God of Israel. Twelve bulls were offered for all Israel. Ninety-six rams and seventy-seven lambs were offered on the altar. And twelve goats were sacrificed for the sins of the people.
36. Some of those who had returned took the king's orders to the governors and officials in Western Province. Then the officials did what they could for the people and for the temple of God.