27. And I gave them 20 gold bowls. The bowls weighed about 19 pounds. And I gave them two beautiful dishes made from polished bronze that were as valuable as gold.
28. Then I said to the twelve priests: “You and these things are holy to the Lord. People gave this silver and gold to the Lord, the God of your ancestors.
29. So guard these things carefully. You are responsible for them until you give them to the Temple leaders in Jerusalem. You will give them to the leading Levites and the family leaders of Israel. They will weigh them and put them in the rooms of the Lord’S Temple in Jerusalem.”
30. So the priests and Levites accepted the silver, gold, and special things that Ezra had weighed and given to them. They were told to take them to God’s Temple in Jerusalem.
31. On the twelfth day of the first month, we left the Ahava River and started toward Jerusalem. God was with us, and he protected us from enemies and robbers along the way.
32. Then we arrived in Jerusalem. We rested there for three days.
33. On the fourth day, we went to the Temple and weighed the silver, gold, and special things. We gave them to Meremoth son of Uriah the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with Meremoth. The Levites, Jozabad son of Jeshua, and Noadiah son of Binnui were with them also.
34. We counted and weighed everything and we wrote down the total weight.
35. Then the Jewish people who came back from captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel. They offered twelve bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 male lambs, and twelve male goats for a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord.
36. Then the people gave the letter from King Artaxerxes to the royal satraps and to the governors of the area west of the Euphrates River. Then the leaders gave their support to the Israelites and to the Temple.