Cyrus’ Proclamation

(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:

“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. 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. 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

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. 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. (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; 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. 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

(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. [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: the sons of Parosh, 2,172; the sons of Shephatiah, 372; the sons of (L)Arah, 775; the sons of (M)Pahath-moab of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,812; the sons of Elam, 1,254; the sons of Zattu, 945; 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.

Notas al pie

  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

Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Return

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:

“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. 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! 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.”

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. 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.

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. 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] This is a list of the items that were returned:

gold basins30
silver basins1,000
silver incense burners[d]29
10 gold bowls30
silver bowls410
other items1,000

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.

Exiles Who Returned with Zerubbabel

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. 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:

The family of Parosh2,172
The family of Shephatiah372
The family of Arah775
The family of Pahath-moab (descendants of Jeshua and Joab)2,812
The family of Elam1,254
The family of Zattu945
The family of Zaccai760
10 The family of Bani642
11 The family of Bebai623
12 The family of Azgad1,222
13 The family of Adonikam666
14 The family of Bigvai2,056
15 The family of Adin454
16 The family of Ater (descendants of Hezekiah)98
17 The family of Bezai323
18 The family of Jorah112
19 The family of Hashum223
20 The family of Gibbar95
21 The people of Bethlehem123
22 The people of Netophah56
23 The people of Anathoth128
24 The people of Beth-azmaveth[e]42
25 The people of Kiriath-jearim,[f] Kephirah, and Beeroth743
26 The people of Ramah and Geba621
27 The people of Micmash122
28 The people of Bethel and Ai223
29 The citizens of Nebo52
30 The citizens of Magbish156
31 The citizens of West Elam[g]1,254
32 The citizens of Harim320
33 The citizens of Lod, Hadid, and Ono725
34 The citizens of Jericho345
35 The citizens of Senaah3,630

36 These are the priests who returned from exile:

The family of Jedaiah (through the line of Jeshua)973
37 The family of Immer1,052
38 The family of Pashhur1,247
39 The family of Harim1,017

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 Asaph128
42 The gatekeepers of the families of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai139

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,[h] 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,[i] 6,250 pounds[j] of silver, and 100 robes for the priests.

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.

Notas al pie

  1. 1:1a The first year of Cyrus’s reign over Babylon was 538 B.c.
  2. 1:1b See Jer 25:11-12; 29:10.
  3. 1:8 Hebrew Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
  4. 1:9 The meaning of this Hebrew word is uncertain.
  5. 2:24 As in parallel text at Neh 7:28; Hebrew reads Azmaveth.
  6. 2:25 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Greek version (see also Neh 7:29); Hebrew reads Kiriath-arim.
  7. 2:31 Or of the other Elam.
  8. 2:46 As in an alternate reading of the Masoretic Text (see also Neh 7:48); the other alternate reads Shamlai.
  9. 2:69a Hebrew 61,000 darics of gold, about 1,100 pounds or 500 kilograms in weight.
  10. 2:69b Hebrew 5,000 minas [3,000 kilograms].