2:1 Nebuchadnezzar had taken many Jews away from the land of Judah. He had forced them to go to Babylon as prisoners. Now they returned to Jerusalem and Judah. All of them went back to their own towns. Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon.
2:2 The leaders of the Jews included Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah and Reelaiah. They also included Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baanah. Here is a list of the men of Israel who returned home.
2:3 There were 2,172 from the family line of Parosh.
2:58 The total number of the members of the family lines of the temple servants and the servants of Solomon was 392.
2:59 Many people came up to Judah from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon and Immer. But they weren’t able to prove that their families belonged to the people of Israel.
2:60 There were 652 of them from the family lines of Delaiah, Tobiah and Nekoda.
2:61 Here is a list of the members of the family lines of the priests. They were Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai. Barzillai had married a daughter of Barzillai from Gilead. So he was also called Barzillai.
2:62 The priests looked for their family records. But they couldn’t find them. So they weren’t able to serve as priests. They were “unclean.”
2:63 The governor gave them an order. He told them not to eat any of the most sacred food. They had to wait until there was a priest who could use the Urim and Thummim. The priest would use them to find out what the Lord wanted the people to do.
2:64 The total number of the entire group that returned was 42,360.
2:65 That didn’t include their 7,337 male and female slaves. There were also 200 male and female singers.
2:68 All the people arrived at the place in Jerusalem where the Lord’s temple would be rebuilt. Then some of the leaders of the families brought offerings they chose to give. They would be used for rebuilding the house of God. It would stand in the same place it had been before.
2:69 The people gave money for the work. It was based on how much they had. They gave 1,100 pounds of gold. They also gave three tons of silver. And they gave 100 sets of clothes for the priests. All of that was added to the temple treasure.
2:70 The priests and Levites made their homes in their own towns. So did the musicians, the men who guarded the gates, and the temple servants. The rest of the Israelites also made their homes in their own towns.
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