16. Then I commissioned Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, principals, also Joiarib and Elnathan, men of understanding;
17. and I sent them unto Iddo, the captain at the place of Casiphia, and I put words in their mouth that they should speak unto Iddo and to his brethren, the Nethinims, at the place of Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God.
18. And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;
19. and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;
20. also of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed for the ministry of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name.
21. Then 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.
22. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to defend us against the enemy in the way because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all those that seek him for good; but his power and his wrath is against all those that forsake him.
23. So we fasted and besought our God for this, and he was intreated of us.
24. Then I separated twelve of the principals of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,
25. and weighed unto them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God, which the king and his counsellors and his princes and all those that were of Israel had offered.
26. I weighed, therefore, unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver and silver vessels of one hundred talents and of gold one hundred talents;
27. also twenty basins of gold, of a thousand drams, and two vessels of clean brass, precious as gold.
28. And I said unto them, Ye are holiness unto the Lord; the vessels are holiness also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the Lord God of your fathers.
29. Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the princes of the priests and the Levites and of the princes of the fathers of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.
30. The priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and of the gold and of the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.
31. And we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and of such as lay in wait by the way.
32. And we came to Jerusalem and abode there three days.