The Priests and Levites Who Returned

Priests and Levites who returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua are named, including those who lead thanksgiving and those who stand opposite them in service. The restored community is introduced through its ministers before any ceremony is described.

N¹ow these are the priests and Levites who went up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua: ²Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, ³Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, ⁴Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah, ⁵Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, ⁶Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, ⁷Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. ⁸The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who, with his associates, led the songs of thanksgiving. ⁹Bakbukiah and Unni, their associates, stood across from them in the services.

Jeshua's line is traced forward, and the heads of priestly families in Joiakim's days are listed one by one. The record moves from ancestry to office, showing how service has been carried on across successive generations.

¹⁰Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, ¹¹Joiada was the father of Jonathan, ¹²In the days of Joiakim, these were the heads of the priestly families: ¹³of Ezra, Meshullam; ¹⁴of Malluchi, Jonathan; ¹⁵of Harim, Adna; ¹⁶of Iddo, Zechariah; ¹⁷of Abijah, Zichri; ¹⁸of Bilgah, Shammua;

The list continues with more priestly heads, records of Levites and priests under later rulers, and named leaders of praise, gatekeeping, and temple service in the days of Joiakim, Nehemiah, and Ezra. The section ends by placing these servants inside an ongoing, carefully remembered order.

¹⁹of Joiarib, Mattenai; ²⁰of Sallai, Kallai; ²¹of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; ²²In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, during the reign of Darius the Persian, the heads of the families of the Levites and priests were recorded. ²³As for the descendants of Levi, the family heads up to the days of Johanan son of Eliashib were recorded in the Book of the Chronicles. ²⁴The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, along with their associates, who stood across from them to give praise and thanksgiving as one section alternated with the other, as prescribed by David the man of God. ²⁵Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms at the gates. ²⁶They served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and scribe.