Hi friend, this is Mary DeMuth and this is Pray Every Day where I have the joy and the privilege of praying you through the Bible verse by verse.

I say those words a lot and I actually really do mean them. I'm not just saying a script and there is no script in front of me.

This is just what kind of comes to mind. Today we are looking at the book of Ezra. It is a book of 10 chapters. We're in chapter 8. Ezra is a scribe

for Israel and very connected to the rebuilding of Jerusalem and as well as the temple in Jerusalem.

Okay, so I'm going to read from Ezra chapter 8 verses 1 through 23 in the World

English Bible. This is what it says. Now these are the heads of their father's households,

and this is the genealogy of those who went up from me from Babylon in the reign of Artaxerxes

the king. Of the sons of Phineas, Gersham, of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel, of the sons of David,

Hattush. Of the sons of Shekinaya, the sons of Perosh, Zechariah, and with him were listed

by genealogy of the males 150. Of the sons of Pahathmoab, Eliehonai, the son of Zara, Zariah, and with him 200 males.

Of the sons of Shekinaya, the son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 males.

Of the sons of Aden, Ebed, the son of Jonathan, and with him 50 males.

Of the sons of Elam, Jeshahaya, the son of Jonathan, and with him 50 males. Of the sons of Elam, Jeshahiahiah, the son of Athalia, and with him, 70 males.

Of the sons of Sheffathaya, Zebediah, the son of Michael, and with him 80 males.

Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah, the son of Jahiel, and with him 218 males.

Of the sons of Shalimuth, the son of Josephiah, and with him 160 males. Of the sons of Bibi,

Zechariah, the son of Bibi, and with him 28 males. Of the sons of Asgard,

Yohanan, the son of Hakkan, hakaton, and with him 110 males. Of the sons of

Adonikam, who were the last, their names are Eliphilet, Jewel, Shemalaya, and with them

60 males. Of the sons of Big Vai, Uthai and Zabud, and with them 70 males.

I gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we encamped three days.

Then I looked around at the people and the priests and found there were none of the sons of Levi.

...