The Book of the Law Found^(A)

22 Josiah^(B) was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath.^{(C) 2} He did what was right^(D) in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right^(E) or to the left.

³ In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan^(F) son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: ⁴ “Go up to Hilkiah^(G) the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected^(H) from the people. ⁵ Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair^(I) the temple of the Lord— ⁶ the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple.^{(J) 7} But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”^(K)

⁸ Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law^(L) in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. ⁹ Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” ¹⁰ Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.^(M)

¹¹ When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law,^(N) he tore his robes. ¹² He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam^(O) son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant:^{(P) 13} “Go and inquire^(Q) of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger^(R) that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”

¹⁴ Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet^(S) Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

¹⁵ She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶ ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster^(T) on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book^(U) the king of Judah has read. ¹⁷ Because they have forsaken^(V) me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made,^[a] my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’ ¹⁸ Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire^(W) of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: ¹⁹ Because your heart was responsive and you humbled^(X) yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curse^[b](Y) and be laid waste^(Z)—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁰ Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace.^(AA) Your eyes^(AB) will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”

So they took her answer back to the king.

Josiah Renews the Covenant^{(AC)(AD)(AE)(AF)}

23 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ² He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read^(AG) in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant,^(AH) which had been found in the temple of the Lord. ³ The king stood by the pillar^(AI) and renewed the covenant^(AJ) in the presence of the Lord—to follow^(AK) the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

⁴ The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers^(AL) to remove^(AM) from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel. ⁵ He did away with the idolatrous priests appointed by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the towns of Judah and on those around Jerusalem—those who burned incense^(AN) to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts.^{(AO) 6} He took the Asherah pole from the temple of the Lord to the Kidron Valley^(AP) outside Jerusalem and burned it there. He ground it to powder^(AQ) and scattered the dust over the graves^(AR) of the common people.^{(AS) 7} He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes^(AT) that were in the temple of the Lord, the quarters where women did weaving for Asherah.

⁸ Josiah brought all the priests from the towns of Judah and desecrated the high places, from Geba^(AU) to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense. He broke down the gateway at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua, the city governor, which was on the left of the city gate. ⁹ Although the priests of the high places did not serve^(AV) at the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests.

¹⁰ He desecrated Topheth,^(AW) which was in the Valley of Ben Hinnom,^(AX) so no one could use it to sacrifice their son^(AY) or daughter in the fire to Molek. ¹¹ He removed from the entrance to the temple of the Lord the horses that the kings of Judah^(AZ) had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court^[c] near the room of an official named Nathan-Melek. Josiah then burned the chariots dedicated to the sun.^(BA)

¹² He pulled down^(BB) the altars the kings of Judah had erected on the roof^(BC) near the upper room of Ahaz, and the altars Manasseh had built in the two courts^(BD) of the temple of the Lord. He removed them from there, smashed them to pieces and threw the rubble into the Kidron Valley.^{(BE) 13} The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption—the ones Solomon^(BF) king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable^(BG) god of the people of Ammon.^{(BH) 14} Josiah smashed^(BI) the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human bones.^(BJ)

¹⁵ Even the altar^(BK) at Bethel, the high place made by Jeroboam^(BL) son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin—even that altar and high place he demolished. He burned the high place and ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole also. ¹⁶ Then Josiah^(BM) looked around, and when he saw the tombs that were there on the hillside, he had the bones removed from them and burned on the altar to defile it, in accordance^(BN) with the word of the Lord proclaimed by the man of God who foretold these things.

¹⁷ The king asked, “What is that tombstone I see?”

The people of the city said, “It marks the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and pronounced against the altar of Bethel the very things you have done to it.”

¹⁸ “Leave it alone,” he said. “Don’t let anyone disturb his bones^(BO).” So they spared his bones and those of the prophet^(BP) who had come from Samaria.

¹⁹ Just as he had done at Bethel, Josiah removed all the shrines at the high places that the kings of Israel had built in the towns of Samaria and that had aroused the Lord’s anger. ²⁰ Josiah slaughtered^(BQ) all the priests of those high places on the altars and burned human bones^(BR) on them. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

²¹ The king gave this order to all the people: “Celebrate the Passover^(BS) to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.”^{(BT) 22} Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed. ²³ But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.^(BU)

²⁴ Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists,^(BV) the household gods,^(BW) the idols and all the other detestable^(BX) things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the Lord. ²⁵ Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned^(BY) to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.^(BZ)

²⁶ Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn away from the heat of his fierce anger,^(CA) which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh^(CB) had done to arouse his anger. ²⁷ So the Lord said, “I will remove^(CC) Judah also from my presence^(CD) as I removed Israel, and I will reject^(CE) Jerusalem, the city I chose, and this temple, about which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’^[d]”

²⁸ As for the other events of Josiah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?

²⁹ While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Necho^(CF) king of Egypt went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to meet him in battle, but Necho faced him and killed him at Megiddo.^{(CG) 30} Josiah’s servants brought his body in a chariot^(CH) from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

Jehoahaz King of Judah^(CI)

³¹ Jehoahaz^(CJ) was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Hamutal^(CK) daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. ³² He did evil^(CL) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done. ³³ Pharaoh Necho put him in chains at Riblah^(CM) in the land of Hamath^(CN) so that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents^[e] of silver and a talent^[f] of gold. ³⁴ Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim^(CO) son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, and there he died.^{(CP) 35} Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh Necho the silver and gold he demanded. In order to do so, he taxed the land and exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land according to their assessments.^(CQ)

Jehoiakim King of Judah^(CR)

³⁶ Jehoiakim^(CS) was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. ³⁷ And he did evil^(CT) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done.

24 During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar^(CU) king of Babylon invaded^(CV) the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. But then he turned against Nebuchadnezzar and rebelled.^{(CW) 2} The Lord sent Babylonian,^[g](CX) Aramean,^(CY) Moabite and Ammonite raiders^(CZ) against him to destroy^(DA) Judah, in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by his servants the prophets.^{(DB) 3} Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord’s command,^(DC) in order to remove them from his presence^(DD) because of the sins of Manasseh^(DE) and all he had done, ⁴ including the shedding of innocent blood.^(DF) For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive.^(DG)

⁵ As for the other events of Jehoiakim’s reign,^(DH) and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ⁶ Jehoiakim rested^(DI) with his ancestors. And Jehoiachin^(DJ) his son succeeded him as king.

⁷ The king of Egypt^(DK) did not march out from his own country again, because the king of Babylon^(DL) had taken all his territory, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

Jehoiachin King of Judah^(DM)

⁸ Jehoiachin^(DN) was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta^(DO) daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. ⁹ He did evil^(DP) in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father had done.

¹⁰ At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar^(DQ) king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, ¹¹ and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. ¹² Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered^(DR) to him.

In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. ¹³ As the Lord had declared,^(DS) Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures^(DT) from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles^(DU) that Solomon^(DV) king of Israel had made for the temple of the Lord. ¹⁴ He carried all Jerusalem into exile:^(DW) all the officers and fighting men,^(DX) and all the skilled workers and artisans—a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest^(DY) people of the land were left.

¹⁵ Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin^(DZ) captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king’s mother,^(EA) his wives, his officials and the prominent people^(EB) of the land. ¹⁶ The king of Babylon also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand skilled workers and artisans.^{(EC) 17} He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.^(ED)

Zedekiah King of Judah^(EE)

¹⁸ Zedekiah^(EF) was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal^(EG) daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. ¹⁹ He did evil^(EH) in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust^(EI) them from his presence.^(EJ)

The Fall of Jerusalem^(EK)(EL)(EM)

Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

25 So in the ninth^(EN) year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar^(EO) king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works^(EP) all around it. ² The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

³ By the ninth day of the fourth^[h] month the famine^(EQ) in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. ⁴ Then the city wall was broken through,^(ER) and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians^[i] were surrounding^(ES) the city. They fled toward the Arabah,^{[j] 5} but the Babylonian^[k] army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered,^{(ET) 6} and he was captured.^(EU)

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah,^(EV) where sentence was pronounced on him. ⁷ They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.^(EW)

⁸ On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ⁹ He set fire^(EX) to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down.^{(EY) 10} The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the imperial guard broke down the walls^(EZ) around Jerusalem. ¹¹ Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile^(FA) the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had deserted to the king of Babylon.^{(FB) 12} But the commander left behind some of the poorest people^(FC) of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

¹³ The Babylonians broke^(FD) up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the Lord and they carried the bronze to Babylon. ¹⁴ They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes^(FE) and all the bronze articles^(FF) used in the temple service. ¹⁵ The commander of the imperial guard took away the censers and sprinkling bowls—all that were made of pure gold or silver.^(FG)

¹⁶ The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the movable stands, which Solomon had made for the temple of the Lord, was more than could be weighed. ¹⁷ Each pillar^(FH) was eighteen cubits^[l] high. The bronze capital on top of one pillar was three cubits^[m] high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its network, was similar.

¹⁸ The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah^(FI) the chief priest, Zephaniah^(FJ) the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers.^{(FK) 19} Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men, and five royal advisers. He also took the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land and sixty of the conscripts who were found in the city. ²⁰ Nebuzaradan the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²¹ There at Riblah,^(FL) in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed.^(FM)

So Judah went into captivity,^(FN) away from her land.^(FO)

²² Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah^(FP) son of Ahikam,^(FQ) the son of Shaphan, to be over the people he had left behind in Judah. ²³ When all the army officers and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jaazaniah the son of the Maakathite, and their men. ²⁴ Gedaliah took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid of the Babylonian officials,” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.”

²⁵ In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood, came with ten men and assassinated^(FR) Gedaliah and also the men of Judah and the Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah.^{(FS) 26} At this, all the people from the least to the greatest, together with the army officers, fled to Egypt^(FT) for fear of the Babylonians.

Jehoiachin Released^(FU)

²⁷ In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin^(FV) king of Judah from prison. He did this on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month. ²⁸ He spoke kindly^(FW) to him and gave him a seat of honor^(FX) higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹ So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table.^{(FY) 30} Day by day the king gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived.^(FZ)

Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return^(A)

1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah,^(B) the Lord moved the heart^(C) of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:

⁵ Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin,^(K) and the priests and Levites—everyone whose heart God had moved^(L)—prepared to go up and build the house^(M) of the Lord in Jerusalem. ⁶ All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold,^(N) with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings.

⁷ Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god.^{[a](O) 8} Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar^(P) the prince of Judah.

⁹ This was the inventory:

¹¹ In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along with the exiles when they came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Rebuilding the Altar

3 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns,^(A) the people assembled^(B) together as one in Jerusalem. ² Then Joshua^(C) son of Jozadak^(D) and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel^(E) and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses^(F) the man of God. ³ Despite their fear^(G) of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices.^{(H) 4} Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles^(I) with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. ⁵ After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon^(J) sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals of the Lord,^(K) as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the Lord. ⁶ On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid.

Rebuilding the Temple

⁷ Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters,^(L) and gave food and drink and olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs^(M) by sea from Lebanon^(N) to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus^(O) king of Persia.

⁸ In the second month^(P) of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel^(Q) son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak and the rest of the people (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work. They appointed Levites twenty^(R) years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the Lord. ⁹ Joshua^(S) and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah^[a]) and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers—all Levites—joined together in supervising those working on the house of God.

¹⁰ When the builders laid^(T) the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets,^(U) and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise^(V) the Lord, as prescribed by David^(W) king of Israel.^{(X) 11} With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:

And all the people gave a great shout^(Z) of praise to the Lord, because the foundation^(AA) of the house of the Lord was laid. ¹² But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple,^(AB) wept^(AC) aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. ¹³ No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy^(AD) from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.

Opposition to the Rebuilding

4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building^(AE) a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, ² they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon^(AF) king of Assyria, who brought us here.”^(AG)

³ But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”^(AH)

⁴ Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.^{[b](AI) 5} They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Later Opposition Under Xerxes and Artaxerxes

⁶ At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes,^[c](AJ) they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.^(AK)

⁷ And in the days of Artaxerxes^(AL) king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic script and in the Aramaic^(AM) language.^[d][e]

⁸ Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows:

¹¹ (This is a copy of the letter they sent him.)

¹⁷ The king sent this reply:

²³ As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates,^(BA) they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop.

²⁴ Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius^(BB) king of Persia.

Tattenai’s Letter to Darius

5 Now Haggai^(BC) the prophet and Zechariah^(BD) the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied^(BE) to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. ² Then Zerubbabel^(BF) son of Shealtiel and Joshua^(BG) son of Jozadak set to work^(BH) to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

³ At that time Tattenai,^(BI) governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai^(BJ) and their associates went to them and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?”^{(BK) 4} They^[g] also asked, “What are the names of those who are constructing this building?” ⁵ But the eye of their God^(BL) was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.

⁶ This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. ⁷ The report they sent him read as follows:

The Decree of Darius

6 King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives^(BW) stored in the treasury at Babylon. ² A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it:

Completion and Dedication of the Temple

¹³ Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates^(CM) carried it out with diligence. ¹⁴ So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching^(CN) of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus,^(CO) Darius^(CP) and Artaxerxes,^(CQ) kings of Persia. ¹⁵ The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.^(CR)

¹⁶ Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication^(CS) of the house of God with joy. ¹⁷ For the dedication of this house of God they offered^(CT) a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs and, as a sin offering^[k] for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ And they installed the priests in their divisions^(CU) and the Levites in their groups^(CV) for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.^(CW)

The Passover

¹⁹ On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover.^{(CX) 20} The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered^(CY) the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their relatives the priests and for themselves. ²¹ So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves^(CZ) from the unclean practices^(DA) of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the Lord,^(DB) the God of Israel. ²² For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(DC) because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude^(DD) of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.

Ezra Comes to Jerusalem

7 After these things, during the reign of Artaxerxes^(DE) king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah,^(DF) the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,^{(DG) 2} the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok,^(DH) the son of Ahitub,^{(DI) 3} the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, ⁴ the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, ⁵ the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas,^(DJ) the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— ⁶ this Ezra^(DK) came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted^(DL) him everything he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.^{(DM) 7} Some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers and temple servants, also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.^(DN)

⁸ Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. ⁹ He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him.^{(DO) 10} For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching^(DP) its decrees and laws in Israel.

King Artaxerxes’ Letter to Ezra

¹¹ This is a copy of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law, a man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the Lord for Israel:

²⁷ Praise be to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king’s heart^(EH) to bring honor^(EI) to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in this way ²⁸ and who has extended his good favor^(EJ) to me before the king and his advisers and all the king’s powerful officials. Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me,^(EK) I took courage and gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

Nehemiah’s Prayer

1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:

In the month of Kislev^(A) in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,^{(B) 2} Hanani,^(C) one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant^(D) that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

³ They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.^(E)”

⁴ When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.^(F) For some days I mourned and fasted^(G) and prayed before the God of heaven. ⁵ Then I said:

I was cupbearer^(U) to the king.

Artaxerxes Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem

2 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,^(V) when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, ² so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

I was very much afraid, ³ but I said to the king, “May the king live forever!^(W) Why should my face not look sad when the city^(X) where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?^(Y)”

⁴ The king said to me, “What is it you want?”

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, ⁵ and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

⁶ Then the king^(Z), with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.

⁷ I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates,^(AA) so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? ⁸ And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel^(AB) by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me,^(AC) the king granted my requests.^{(AD) 9} So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry^(AE) with me.

¹⁰ When Sanballat^(AF) the Horonite and Tobiah^(AG) the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.^(AH)

Nehemiah Inspects Jerusalem’s Walls

¹¹ I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days^{(AI) 12} I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.

¹³ By night I went out through the Valley Gate^(AJ) toward the Jackal^[a] Well and the Dung Gate,^(AK) examining the walls^(AL) of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. ¹⁴ Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate^(AM) and the King’s Pool,^(AN) but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; ¹⁵ so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. ¹⁶ The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.

¹⁷ Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire.^(AO) Come, let us rebuild the wall^(AP) of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.^(AQ)”