Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And I weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels,.... When he delivered them to them; this he did as a proof of his own integrity and faithfulness, and as a security against any charge or accusation of embezzling any part of them, and to set them an example, and also that they might be under no temptation of acting such a part, and might be vindicated should they be charged with it: even

the offering of the house of our God; what was freely offered for the service of it:

which the king and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered; as freewill offerings, see Ezra 7:15.

John Trapp Complete Commentary

Ezra 8:25 And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, [even] the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel [there] present, had offered:

Ver. 25. And weighed unto them] Heb. I scaled it out unto them; Cyrus counted it out to Zerubbabel, Ezra 1:1; Ezra 1:9, &c.

And his lords] Called mighty princes, Ezra 7:28; see Isaiah 10:8.

And all Israel there present] Heb. There found at that time, or that had found in their purses, found in their hearts.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

25.Weighed unto them — Took a careful inventory of all the offerings that had been given, and consigned them to their care, that it might be shown at Jerusalem that nothing had been lost or stolen by the way.

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments

Ezra 8:25. And weighed unto them the silver and the gold — Because he expected to receive it from them again by weight. In all trusts, but especially sacred ones, we ought to be punctual, and preserve a right understanding on both sides. In Zerubbabel’s time the vessels were delivered by number, here by weight, that all might be forth-coming, and it might easily appear if any were missing.

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes

offering = heave offering. App-43.

all Israel. See note on Ezra 2:2 and 1 Kings 12:17.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged

And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered:

And weighed unto them the silver ... The custody of the contributions and of the sacred vessels was, during the journey, committed to twelve of the chief priests, who, with the assistance of ten of their brethren, were to watch closely over them by the way, and deliver them into the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. The treasures in silver and gold, according to the value of the Babylonian talent, amounted to about 515,000 British pounds sterling.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(25) And weighed.—The gold and silver were in bars. According to the best computation, the silver would amount to a quarter of a million of our money, and the gold to about three-quarters of a million.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counsellors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered:

weighed

33; 1:8; 2 Corinthians 8:20,21; Philippians 4:8

the silver

7:15,16

Reciprocal: Genesis 23:16 - weighed;  Numbers 1:50 - thou shalt;  Numbers 7:13 - charger;  Numbers 7:85 - two thousand;  2 Kings 12:4 - and all the money;  1 Chronicles 9:28 - the charge;  1 Chronicles 28:13 - the vessels;  2 Chronicles 35:8 - his princes;  Ezra 1:6 - strengthened their hands;  Ezra 2:69 - the treasure;  Isaiah 52:11 - be