2 Chronicles 36:20-21
New Living Translation
20 The few who survived were taken as exiles to Babylon, and they became servants to the king and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.
21 So the message of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said.
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Ezra 1
New Living Translation
Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Return
1 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia,[a] the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah.[b] He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:
2 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:
“The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Any of you who are his people may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you! 4 Wherever this Jewish remnant is found, let their neighbors contribute toward their expenses by giving them silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock, as well as a voluntary offering for the Temple of God in Jerusalem.”
5 Then God stirred the hearts of the priests and Levites and the leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. 6 And all their neighbors assisted by giving them articles of silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock. They gave them many valuable gifts in addition to all the voluntary offerings.
7 King Cyrus himself brought out the articles that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his own gods. 8 Cyrus directed Mithredath, the treasurer of Persia, to count these items and present them to Sheshbazzar, the leader of the exiles returning to Judah.[c] 9 This is a list of the items that were returned:
gold basins | 30 |
silver basins | 1,000 |
silver incense burners[d] | 29 |
10 gold bowls | 30 |
silver bowls | 410 |
other items | 1,000 |
11 In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and silver. Sheshbazzar brought all of these along when the exiles went from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Ezra 2:1-69
New Living Translation
Exiles Who Returned with Zerubbabel
2 Here is the list of the Jewish exiles of the provinces who returned from their captivity. King Nebuchadnezzar had deported them to Babylon, but now they returned to Jerusalem and the other towns in Judah where they originally lived. 2 Their leaders were Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.
This is the number of the men of Israel who returned from exile:
3 The family of Parosh | 2,172 |
4 The family of Shephatiah | 372 |
5 The family of Arah | 775 |
6 The family of Pahath-moab (descendants of Jeshua and Joab) | 2,812 |
7 The family of Elam | 1,254 |
8 The family of Zattu | 945 |
9 The family of Zaccai | 760 |
10 The family of Bani | 642 |
11 The family of Bebai | 623 |
12 The family of Azgad | 1,222 |
13 The family of Adonikam | 666 |
14 The family of Bigvai | 2,056 |
15 The family of Adin | 454 |
16 The family of Ater (descendants of Hezekiah) | 98 |
17 The family of Bezai | 323 |
18 The family of Jorah | 112 |
19 The family of Hashum | 223 |
20 The family of Gibbar | 95 |
21 The people of Bethlehem | 123 |
22 The people of Netophah | 56 |
23 The people of Anathoth | 128 |
24 The people of Beth-azmaveth[a] | 42 |
25 The people of Kiriath-jearim,[b] Kephirah, and Beeroth | 743 |
26 The people of Ramah and Geba | 621 |
27 The people of Micmash | 122 |
28 The people of Bethel and Ai | 223 |
29 The citizens of Nebo | 52 |
30 The citizens of Magbish | 156 |
31 The citizens of West Elam[c] | 1,254 |
32 The citizens of Harim | 320 |
33 The citizens of Lod, Hadid, and Ono | 725 |
34 The citizens of Jericho | 345 |
35 The citizens of Senaah | 3,630 |
36 These are the priests who returned from exile:
The family of Jedaiah (through the line of Jeshua) | 973 |
37 The family of Immer | 1,052 |
38 The family of Pashhur | 1,247 |
39 The family of Harim | 1,017 |
40 These are the Levites who returned from exile:
The families of Jeshua and Kadmiel (descendants of Hodaviah) | 74 |
41 The singers of the family of Asaph | 128 |
42 The gatekeepers of the families of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai | 139 |
43 The descendants of the following Temple servants returned from exile:
Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,
44 Keros, Siaha, Padon,
45 Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub,
46 Hagab, Shalmai,[d] Hanan,
47 Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah,
48 Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam,
49 Uzza, Paseah, Besai,
50 Asnah, Meunim, Nephusim,
51 Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur,
52 Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha,
53 Barkos, Sisera, Temah,
54 Neziah, and Hatipha.
55 The descendants of these servants of King Solomon returned from exile:
Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda,
56 Jaalah, Darkon, Giddel,
57 Shephatiah, Hattil, Pokereth-hazzebaim, and Ami.
58 In all, the Temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants numbered 392.
59 Another group returned at this time from the towns of Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Kerub, Addan, and Immer. However, they could not prove that they or their families were descendants of Israel. 60 This group included the families of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda—a total of 652 people.
61 Three families of priests—Hobaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai—also returned. (This Barzillai had married a woman who was a descendant of Barzillai of Gilead, and he had taken her family name.) 62 They searched for their names in the genealogical records, but they were not found, so they were disqualified from serving as priests. 63 The governor told them not to eat the priests’ share of food from the sacrifices until a priest could consult the Lord about the matter by using the Urim and Thummim—the sacred lots.
64 So a total of 42,360 people returned to Judah, 65 in addition to 7,337 servants and 200 singers, both men and women. 66 They took with them 736 horses, 245 mules, 67 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.
68 When they arrived at the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders made voluntary offerings toward the rebuilding of God’s Temple on its original site, 69 and each leader gave as much as he could. The total of their gifts came to 61,000 gold coins,[e] 6,250 pounds[f] of silver, and 100 robes for the priests.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2:24 As in parallel text at Neh 7:28; Hebrew reads Azmaveth.
- 2:25 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Greek version (see also Neh 7:29); Hebrew reads Kiriath-arim.
- 2:31 Or of the other Elam.
- 2:46 As in an alternate reading of the Masoretic Text (see also Neh 7:48); the other alternate reads Shamlai.
- 2:69a Hebrew 61,000 darics of gold, about 1,100 pounds or 500 kilograms in weight.
- 2:69b Hebrew 5,000 minas [3,000 kilograms].
Nehemiah 7:70-72
New Living Translation
70 Some of the family leaders gave gifts for the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 gold coins,[a] 50 gold basins, and 530 robes for the priests. 71 The other leaders gave to the treasury a total of 20,000 gold coins[b] and some 2,750 pounds[c] of silver for the work. 72 The rest of the people gave 20,000 gold coins, about 2,500 pounds[d] of silver, and 67 robes for the priests.
Ezra 2:70
New Living Translation
70 So the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, the Temple servants, and some of the common people settled in villages near Jerusalem. The rest of the people returned to their own towns throughout Israel.
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Ezra 3:1-7
New Living Translation
The Altar Is Rebuilt
3 In early autumn,[a] when the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people assembled in Jerusalem with a unified purpose. 2 Then Jeshua son of Jehozadak[b] joined his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel with his family in rebuilding the altar of the God of Israel. They wanted to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, as instructed in the Law of Moses, the man of God. 3 Even though the people were afraid of the local residents, they rebuilt the altar at its old site. Then they began to sacrifice burnt offerings on the altar to the Lord each morning and evening.
4 They celebrated the Festival of Shelters as prescribed in the Law, sacrificing the number of burnt offerings specified for each day of the festival. 5 They also offered the regular burnt offerings and the offerings required for the new moon celebrations and the annual festivals as prescribed by the Lord. The people also gave voluntary offerings to the Lord. 6 Fifteen days before the Festival of Shelters began,[c] the priests had begun to sacrifice burnt offerings to the Lord. This was even before they had started to lay the foundation of the Lord’s Temple.
The People Begin to Rebuild the Temple
7 Then the people hired masons and carpenters and bought cedar logs from the people of Tyre and Sidon, paying them with food, wine, and olive oil. The logs were brought down from the Lebanon mountains and floated along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea[d] to Joppa, for King Cyrus had given permission for this.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 3:1 Hebrew In the seventh month. The year is not specified, so it may have been during Cyrus’s first year (538 B.c.) or second year (537 B.c.). The seventh month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred within the months of September/October 538 B.c. and October/November 537 B.c.
- 3:2 Hebrew Jozadak, a variant spelling of Jehozadak; also in 3:8.
- 3:6 Hebrew On the first day of the seventh month. This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in September or October. The Festival of Shelters began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.
- 3:7 Hebrew the sea.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.