21. Then I proclaimed a fast, there by the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions.
22. For I was ashamed to ask the king for troops and horsemen to protect us against enemies along the way, since we had said to the king, “The favoring hand of our God is over all who seek him, but his fierce anger is against all who forsake him.”
23. So we fasted, seeking this from our God, and it was granted.
24. Next I selected twelve of the priestly leaders along with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen,
25. and I weighed out before them the silver and the gold and the vessels offered for the house of our God by the king, his counselors, his officials, and all the Israelites of that region.
26. I weighed out into their hands these amounts: silver, six hundred and fifty talents; silver vessels, one hundred; gold, one hundred talents;
27. twenty golden bowls valued at a thousand darics; two vases of excellent polished bronze, as precious as gold.
28. I addressed them in these words: “You are consecrated to the Lord, and the vessels are also consecrated; the silver and the gold are a voluntary offering to the Lord, the God of your ancestors.