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Ezra 1-5
New American Standard Bible

Cyrus’ Proclamation

1 (A)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he (B)sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:

2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and (C)He has appointed me to rebuild for Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! [a]Go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; (D)He is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And every survivor, at whatever place he may [b]live, the people of [c]that place are to support him with silver and gold, with equipment and cattle, together with a [d]voluntary offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.’”

Holy Vessels Restored

5 Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites rose up, (E)everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. 6 And all of those around them [e](F)encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with equipment, cattle, and with valuables, aside from everything that was given as a [f]voluntary offering. 7 (G)Also King Cyrus brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, (H)which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and put in the house of his gods; 8 and Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and he counted them out to (I)Sheshbazzar, the leader of Judah. 9 Now this was their number: thirty (J)gold dishes, a thousand silver dishes, twenty nine [g]duplicates; 10 thirty gold bowls, 410 silver bowls of a second kind, and a thousand other articles. 11 All the articles of gold and silver totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought them all up with the exiles who went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Number of Those Returning

2 (K)Now these are the [h]people of the province who came up out of the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had taken into exile to Babylon, and they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city. 2 [i]These came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, [j]Seraiah, [k]Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, [l]Mispar, Bigvai, [m]Rehum, and Baanah.

This is the number of the men of the people of Israel: 3 the sons of Parosh, 2,172; 4 the sons of Shephatiah, 372; 5 the sons of (L)Arah, 775; 6 the sons of (M)Pahath-moab of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,812; 7 the sons of Elam, 1,254; 8 the sons of Zattu, 945; 9 the sons of Zaccai, 760; 10 the sons of [n]Bani, 642; 11 the sons of Bebai, 623; 12 the sons of Azgad, 1,222; 13 the sons of (N)Adonikam, 666; 14 the sons of Bigvai, 2,056; 15 the sons of Adin, 454; 16 the sons of Ater, of Hezekiah, 98; 17 the sons of Bezai, 323; 18 the sons of [o]Jorah, 112; 19 the sons of Hashum, 223; 20 the sons of [p]Gibbar, 95; 21 the [q]men of (O)Bethlehem, 123; 22 the men of Netophah, 56; 23 the men of Anathoth, 128; 24 the sons of [r]Azmaveth, 42; 25 the sons of [s]Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743; 26 the sons of (P)Ramah and Geba, 621; 27 the men of Michmas, 122; 28 the men of Bethel and Ai, 223; 29 the sons of Nebo, 52; 30 the sons of Magbish, 156; 31 the sons of the other Elam, 1,254; 32 the sons of Harim, 320; 33 the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 725; 34 the [t]men of (Q)Jericho, 345; 35 the sons of Senaah, 3,630.

Priests Returning

36 (R)The priests: the sons of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua, 973; 37 the sons of (S)Immer, 1,052; 38 (T)the sons of Pashhur, 1,247; 39 the sons of (U)Harim, 1,017.

Levites Returning

40 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of [u]Hodaviah, 74. 41 The singers: the sons of Asaph, 128. 42 The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, 139 in all.

43 The (V)temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, 44 the sons of Keros, the sons of [v]Siaha, the sons of Padon, 45 the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub, 46 the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shalmai, the sons of Hanan, 47 the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah, 48 the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam, 49 the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai, 50 the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of [w]Nephisim, 51 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 52 the sons of [x]Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 53 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, 54 the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.

55 The sons of (W)Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of [y]Hassophereth, the sons of [z]Peruda, 56 the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 57 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, and the sons of [aa]Ami.

58 All the (X)temple servants and the sons of (Y)Solomon’s servants totaled 392.

59 Now these were the ones who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, [ab]Addan, and Immer, but they were not able to [ac]provide evidence of their fathers’ households and their [ad]descendants, whether they were of Israel: 60 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, 652.

Priests Removed

61 Of the sons of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of (Z)Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and he was called by their name. 62 These searched among their genealogical registration but they could not be located; (AA)so they were considered defiled and excluded from the priesthood. 63 The [ae]governor said to them (AB)that they were not to eat from the most holy things until a priest stood up with (AC)Urim and Thummim.

64 The whole assembly together totaled 42,360, 65 besides their male and female slaves [af]who totaled 7,337; and they had two hundred (AD)singing men and women. 66 Their horses numbered 736; their mules, 245; 67 their camels, 435; their donkeys, 6,720.

68 Some of the heads of fathers’ households, when they arrived at the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, offered willingly for the house of God to erect it on its site. 69 According to their ability they gave (AE)to the treasury for the work sixty-one thousand gold drachmas, five thousand silver minas, and a hundred priestly [ag]garments.

70 (AF)Now the priests and the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants lived in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

Altar and Sacrifices Restored

3 Now when the seventh month came, and (AG)the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one person to Jerusalem. 2 Then (AH)Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and (AI)Zerubbabel the son (AJ)of Shealtiel and his brothers, rose up and (AK)built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it, (AL)as it is written in the Law of Moses, the man of God. 3 So they set up the altar on its foundation, because [ah](AM)they were terrified of the peoples of the lands; and they (AN)offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. 4 They also celebrated the (AO)Feast of [ai]Booths, (AP)as it is written, and offered [aj]the prescribed number of burnt offerings daily, (AQ)according to the ordinance, [ak]as each day required; 5 and afterward there was a (AR)continual burnt offering, also (AS)for the new moons and (AT)for all the appointed festivals of the Lord that were consecrated, and from everyone who offered a [al]voluntary offering to the Lord. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, but the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not been laid. 7 Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and (AU)food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians (AV)to bring cedar wood from Lebanon to the sea at (AW)Joppa, according to the permission they had [am]from (AX)Cyrus king of Persia.

Temple Restoration Begun

8 Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, (AY)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and (AZ)appointed the Levites who were twenty years old and upward to oversee the work of the house of the Lord. 9 Then (BA)Jeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of [an]Judah and the sons of Henadad with their sons and brothers the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the temple of God.

10 Now when the builders had (BB)laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, [ao]the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord (BC)according to the [ap]directions of King David of Israel. 11 And (BD)they sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, “(BE)For He is good, for His favor is upon Israel forever.” And all the people shouted with a great shout of joy when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, (BF)the old men who had seen the first [aq]temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, because the people were shouting with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.

Enemies Hinder the Work

4 Now when (BG)the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that (BH)the people of the exile were building a temple to the Lord God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for like you, we seek your God; (BI)and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of (BJ)Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.” 3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “(BK)You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build for the Lord God of Israel, (BL)just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”

4 Then (BM)the people of the land [ar]discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, 5 and bribed advisers against them to frustrate their advice all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

6 Now in the reign of [as](BN)Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

7 And in the days of [at]Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the [au]text of the letter was written in Aramaic and translated (BO)from Aramaic.

The Letter to King Artaxerxes

8 [av]Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes, as follows— 9 [aw]Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and (BP)the rest of their colleagues, the judges and (BQ)the lesser governors, the officials, the secretaries, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations which the great and honorable [ax]Osnappar deported and settled in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the region beyond the Euphrates River. (BR)And now 11 this is a copy of the letter which they sent to him:

“To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men of the region beyond the Euphrates River; and now 12 let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem; they are rebuilding (BS)the rebellious and evil city and (BT)are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13 Now let it be known to the king, that if that city is rebuilt and the walls are finished, (BU)they will not pay tribute, custom tax, or toll, and it will [ay]be detrimental to the revenue of the kings. 14 Now because we [az]are in the service of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king’s shame, for this reason we have sent word and informed the king, 15 so that a search may be conducted in the record books of your fathers. And you will discover in the record books and learn that that city is a rebellious city and detrimental to kings and provinces, and that they have revolted within it in past days; for this reason that city was laid waste. 16 We are informing the king that if that city is rebuilt and the walls finished, then as a result of this you will have no possession in the province beyond the Euphrates River.”

The King Replies and Work Stops

17 Then the king sent a response to Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and in the rest of the provinces beyond the Euphrates River: “Peace. And now, 18 the document which you sent to us has been [ba](BV)translated and read before me. 19 And a decree has been [bb]issued by me, and a search has been conducted and it has been discovered that that city has risen up against the kings in past days, and that rebellion and revolt have been perpetrated in it, 20 (BW)that mighty kings have [bc]ruled over Jerusalem, governing all the provinces (BX)beyond the Euphrates River, and that (BY)tribute, custom tax, and toll were paid to them. 21 Now issue a decree to make those men stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until a decree is issued by me. 22 And beware of being negligent in carrying out this matter; why should there be great damage, to the detriment of the kings?”

23 Then as soon as the copy of King Artaxerxes’ decree was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their colleagues, they went in a hurry to Jerusalem to the Jews and stopped them by military force.

24 Then work on the house of God in Jerusalem was discontinued, and it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Temple Work Resumed

5 When the prophets, (BZ)Haggai the prophet and (CA)Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them, 2 then (CB)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and (CC)the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

3 At that time (CD)Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues came to them and spoke to them as follows: “(CE)Who issued you a decree to rebuild this [bd]temple and to finish this structure?” 4 (CF)Then we told them accordingly what the names of the men were who were reconstructing this building. 5 But (CG)the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report could reach Darius, and then the decree concerning it could be sent back.

Enemies Write to Darius

6 This is the copy of the letter that (CH)Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and his colleagues (CI)the officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. 7 They sent the report to him in which it was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace. 8 May it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God which is being built with large stones, and [be]beams are being laid in the walls; and this work is being performed with great care and is succeeding in their hands. 9 Then we asked those elders and said to them as follows: ‘Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?’ 10 We also asked them their names so as to inform you, in order that we might write down the names of the men who were [bf]in charge. 11 So they [bg]answered us as follows, saying, ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, (CJ)which a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But (CK)because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, (CL)He handed them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon. 13 However, (CM)in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus (CN)issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. 14 Also (CO)the gold and silver utensils of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought them to the temple of Babylon, King Cyrus took them from the temple of Babylon and they were given to one (CP)whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor. 15 And he said to him, “Take these utensils, go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and have the house of God rebuilt in its place.” 16 Then that Sheshbazzar came and (CQ)laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem; and from then until now it has been under construction and it is (CR)not yet completed.’ 17 And now, if it pleases the king, (CS)let a search be conducted in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, as to whether a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem; and let the king send to us his decision concerning this matter.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezra 1:3 Lit he is to go up
  2. Ezra 1:4 Or reside as a stranger
  3. Ezra 1:4 Lit his
  4. Ezra 1:4 Or freewill offering
  5. Ezra 1:6 Lit strengthened their hands
  6. Ezra 1:6 Or freewill offering
  7. Ezra 1:9 Heb obscure; other possible meanings are knives, censers
  8. Ezra 2:1 Lit sons
  9. Ezra 2:2 Lit who
  10. Ezra 2:2 In Neh 7:7, Azariah
  11. Ezra 2:2 In Neh 7:7, Raamiah
  12. Ezra 2:2 In Neh 7:7, Mispereth
  13. Ezra 2:2 In Neh 7:7, Nehum
  14. Ezra 2:10 In Neh 7:15, Binnui
  15. Ezra 2:18 In Neh 7:24, Hariph
  16. Ezra 2:20 In Neh 7:25, Gibeon
  17. Ezra 2:21 Lit sons
  18. Ezra 2:24 In Neh 7:28, Beth-azmaveth
  19. Ezra 2:25 In Neh 7:29, Kiriath-jearim
  20. Ezra 2:34 Lit sons
  21. Ezra 2:40 In Ezra 3:9, Judah; in Neh 7:43, Hodevah
  22. Ezra 2:44 In Neh 7:47, Sia
  23. Ezra 2:50 In Neh 7:52, Nephushesim
  24. Ezra 2:52 In Neh 7:54, Bazlith
  25. Ezra 2:55 In Neh 7:57, Sophereth
  26. Ezra 2:55 In Neh 7:57, Perida
  27. Ezra 2:57 In Neh 7:59, Amon
  28. Ezra 2:59 In Neh 7:61, Addon
  29. Ezra 2:59 Lit tell
  30. Ezra 2:59 Lit seed
  31. Ezra 2:63 Heb Tirshatha, a Persian title
  32. Ezra 2:65 Lit these
  33. Ezra 2:69 Or tunics
  34. Ezra 3:3 Lit terror was upon them from
  35. Ezra 3:4 Or Tabernacles
  36. Ezra 3:4 Lit by number
  37. Ezra 3:4 Lit a day’s word on its day
  38. Ezra 3:5 Or freewill offering
  39. Ezra 3:7 Lit of
  40. Ezra 3:9 In Ezra 2:40, Hodaviah; in Neh 7:43, Hodevah
  41. Ezra 3:10 As in LXX and some mss; MT they set the priests
  42. Ezra 3:10 Lit hands
  43. Ezra 3:12 Lit house
  44. Ezra 4:4 Lit slackened the hands of
  45. Ezra 4:6 Or Xerxes; Heb Ahash-verosh
  46. Ezra 4:7 Heb Artah-shashta
  47. Ezra 4:7 Lit writing
  48. Ezra 4:8 Chs 4:8-6:18 are in Aram
  49. Ezra 4:9 Uncertain, MT Then Rehum
  50. Ezra 4:10 I.e., prob. Ashurbanipal
  51. Ezra 4:13 Or certainly be...to the kings
  52. Ezra 4:14 Lit eat the salt of
  53. Ezra 4:18 Lit clearly read
  54. Ezra 4:19 Lit put forth
  55. Ezra 4:20 Lit been
  56. Ezra 5:3 Lit house, and so in vv 9, 11, 12
  57. Ezra 5:8 Lit timber is
  58. Ezra 5:10 Lit at their heads
  59. Ezra 5:11 Lit returned us the word
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Ezra 1-5
New International Version

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:

2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:

“‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed(D) me to build(E) a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. 4 And in any locality where survivors(F) may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold,(G) with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings(H) for the temple of God(I) in Jerusalem.’”(J)

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:

gold dishes30
silver dishes1,000
silver pans[b]29
10 gold bowls30
matching silver bowls410
other articles1,000

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.

The List of the Exiles Who Returned(Q)

2 Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles,(R) whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon(S) had taken captive to Babylon (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to their own town,(T) 2 in company with Zerubbabel,(U) Joshua,(V) Nehemiah, Seraiah,(W) Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baanah):

The list of the men of the people of Israel:

3 the descendants of Parosh(X)2,172
4 of Shephatiah372
5 of Arah775
6 of Pahath-Moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab)2,812
7 of Elam1,254
8 of Zattu945
9 of Zakkai760
10 of Bani642
11 of Bebai623
12 of Azgad1,222
13 of Adonikam(Y)666
14 of Bigvai2,056
15 of Adin454
16 of Ater (through Hezekiah)98
17 of Bezai323
18 of Jorah112
19 of Hashum223
20 of Gibbar95
21 the men of Bethlehem(Z)123
22 of Netophah56
23 of Anathoth128
24 of Azmaveth42
25 of Kiriath Jearim,[c] Kephirah and Beeroth743
26 of Ramah(AA) and Geba621
27 of Mikmash122
28 of Bethel and Ai(AB)223
29 of Nebo52
30 of Magbish156
31 of the other Elam1,254
32 of Harim320
33 of Lod, Hadid and Ono725
34 of Jericho(AC)345
35 of Senaah3,630

36 The priests:

the descendants of Jedaiah(AD) (through the family of Jeshua)973
37 of Immer(AE)1,052
38 of Pashhur(AF)1,247
39 of Harim(AG)1,017

40 The Levites:(AH)

the descendants of Jeshua(AI) and Kadmiel (of the line of Hodaviah)74

41 The musicians:(AJ)

the descendants of Asaph128

42 The gatekeepers(AK) of the temple:

the descendants of
Shallum, Ater, Talmon,
Akkub, Hatita and Shobai139

43 The temple servants:(AL)

the descendants of
Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,
44 Keros, Siaha, Padon,
45 Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub,
46 Hagab, Shalmai, 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 the servants of Solomon:

the descendants of
Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda,
56 Jaala, Darkon, Giddel,
57 Shephatiah, Hattil,
Pokereth-Hazzebaim and Ami
58 The temple servants(AM) and the descendants of the servants of Solomon392

59 The following came up from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon and Immer, but they could not show that their families were descended(AN) from Israel:

60 The descendants of
Delaiah, Tobiah and Nekoda652

61 And from among the priests:

The descendants of
Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai (a man who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite(AO) and was called by that name).

62 These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood(AP) as unclean. 63 The governor ordered them not to eat any of the most sacred food(AQ) until there was a priest ministering with the Urim and Thummim.(AR)

64 The whole company numbered 42,360, 65 besides their 7,337 male and female slaves; and they also had 200 male and female singers.(AS) 66 They had 736 horses,(AT) 245 mules, 67 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys.

68 When they arrived at the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families(AU) gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God on its site. 69 According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 darics[d] of gold, 5,000 minas[e] of silver and 100 priestly garments.

70 The priests, the Levites, the musicians, the gatekeepers and the temple servants settled in their own towns, along with some of the other people, and the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns.(AV)

Rebuilding the Altar

3 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns,(AW) the people assembled(AX) together as one in Jerusalem. 2 Then Joshua(AY) son of Jozadak(AZ) and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel(BA) 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(BB) the man of God. 3 Despite their fear(BC) 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.(BD) 4 Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles(BE) with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. 5 After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon(BF) sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals of the Lord,(BG) 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,(BH) and gave food and drink and olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs(BI) by sea from Lebanon(BJ) to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus(BK) king of Persia.

8 In the second month(BL) of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel(BM) 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(BN) years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the Lord. 9 Joshua(BO) and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah[f]) 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(BP) the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets,(BQ) and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise(BR) the Lord, as prescribed by David(BS) king of Israel.(BT) 11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:

“He is good;
    his love toward Israel endures forever.”(BU)

And all the people gave a great shout(BV) of praise to the Lord, because the foundation(BW) 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,(BX) wept(BY) 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(BZ) 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(CA) 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(CB) king of Assyria, who brought us here.”(CC)

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.”(CD)

4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.[g](CE) 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,[h](CF) they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.(CG)

7 And in the days of Artaxerxes(CH) 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(CI) language.[i][j]

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

9 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates(CJ)—the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Uruk(CK) and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa,(CL) 10 and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal(CM) deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates.(CN)

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

To King Artaxerxes,

From your servants in Trans-Euphrates:

12 The king should know that the people who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations.(CO)

13 Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty(CP) will be paid, and eventually the royal revenues will suffer.[k] 14 Now since we are under obligation to the palace and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonored, we are sending this message to inform the king, 15 so that a search may be made in the archives(CQ) of your predecessors. In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place with a long history of sedition. That is why this city was destroyed.(CR) 16 We inform the king that if this city is built and its walls are restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.

17 The king sent this reply:

To Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary and the rest of their associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates:(CS)

Greetings.

18 The letter you sent us has been read and translated in my presence. 19 I issued an order and a search was made, and it was found that this city has a long history of revolt(CT) against kings and has been a place of rebellion and sedition. 20 Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over the whole of Trans-Euphrates,(CU) and taxes, tribute and duty were paid to them. 21 Now issue an order to these men to stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order. 22 Be careful not to neglect this matter. Why let this threat grow, to the detriment of the royal interests?(CV)

23 As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates,(CW) 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(CX) king of Persia.

Tattenai’s Letter to Darius

5 Now Haggai(CY) the prophet and Zechariah(CZ) the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied(DA) to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel(DB) son of Shealtiel and Joshua(DC) son of Jozadak set to work(DD) to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

3 At that time Tattenai,(DE) governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai(DF) and their associates went to them and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?”(DG) 4 They[l] also asked, “What are the names of those who are constructing this building?” 5 But the eye of their God(DH) 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:

To King Darius:

Cordial greetings.

8 The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work(DI) is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction.

9 We questioned the elders and asked them, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?”(DJ) 10 We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.

11 This is the answer they gave us:

“We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple(DK) that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But because our ancestors angered(DL) the God of heaven, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.(DM)

13 “However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree(DN) to rebuild this house of God. 14 He even removed from the temple[m] of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple[n] in Babylon.(DO) Then King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar,(DP) whom he had appointed governor, 15 and he told him, ‘Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the house of God on its site.’

16 “So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God(DQ) in Jerusalem. From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished.”

17 Now if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives(DR) of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.

Footnotes

  1. Ezra 1:7 Or gods
  2. Ezra 1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Ezra 2:25 See Septuagint (see also Neh. 7:29); Hebrew Kiriath Arim.
  4. Ezra 2:69 That is, about 1,100 pounds or about 500 kilograms
  5. Ezra 2:69 That is, about 3 tons or about 2.8 metric tons
  6. Ezra 3:9 Hebrew Yehudah, a variant of Hodaviah
  7. Ezra 4:4 Or and troubled them as they built
  8. Ezra 4:6 Hebrew Ahasuerus
  9. Ezra 4:7 Or written in Aramaic and translated
  10. Ezra 4:7 The text of 4:8–6:18 is in Aramaic.
  11. Ezra 4:13 The meaning of the Aramaic for this clause is uncertain.
  12. Ezra 5:4 See Septuagint; Aramaic We.
  13. Ezra 5:14 Or palace
  14. Ezra 5:14 Or palace
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