These are the family heads and genealogical records of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:
Parallel translations
- WEB Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:
- KJV These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king.
- NKJV These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of King Artaxerxes:
- NASB Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households and the genealogical enrollment of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes:
- NLT Here is a list of the family leaders and the genealogies of those who came with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Ezra records the family heads who returned with him from Babylon under Artaxerxes. God remembers and names those who answer His call.
Overview
This verse opens a register of the clan leaders who joined Ezra's journey, written in his own first-person voice. Such lists, though detailed, show that God values each individual and household who responds to His work. The careful record honors the faith of those willing to leave Babylon and return to serve God in Jerusalem.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ezra 7:7So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants.
- 2 Chr 26:12The total number of family leaders of the mighty men of valor was 2,600.
- 1 Chr 9:1So all Israel was recorded in the genealogies written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. But Judah was exiled to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.
- Neh 7:70–71Some of the heads of the families contributed to the project. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 bowls, and 530 priestly garments.
- 1 Chr 26:32Among Jerijah’s relatives there were 2,700 capable men who were heads of families. King David appointed them over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh for every matter pertaining to God and to the affairs of the king.
- 1 Chr 9:34All these were heads of Levite families, chiefs according to their genealogies, and they lived in Jerusalem.
- Ezra 7:13I hereby decree that any volunteers among the Israelites in my kingdom, including the priests and Levites, may go up with you to Jerusalem.
- Ezra 2:62These men searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.
- 1 Chr 4:33and all their surrounding villages as far as Baal. These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record:
- Ezra 1:5So the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred—prepared to go up and rebuild the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.
- 1 Chr 24:31As their brothers the descendants of Aaron did, they also cast lots in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the families of the priests and Levites—the family heads and their younger brothers alike.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The return from exile and the rebuilt altar keep alive the hope of a greater restoration — the true return from our deeper exile of sin accomplished by Christ.
How Ezra 8:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.