Ezra 1-6

Contemporary English Version

Cyrus Lets the Jews Return Home

1 ^(A) Years ago the Lord sent Jeremiah with a message about a promise^[a] for the people of Israel. Then in the first year that Cyrus was king of Persia,^[b] the Lord kept his promise by telling Cyrus to send this official message to all parts of his kingdom:

^2-3 (B) I am King Cyrus of Persia.

The Lord God of heaven, who is also the God of Israel, has made me the ruler of all nations on earth. And he has chosen me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. The Lord God will watch over and encourage any of his people who want to go back to Jerusalem and help build the temple.

⁴ Everyone else must provide what is needed. They must give money, supplies, and animals, as well as gifts for rebuilding God's temple.

⁵ Many people felt that the Lord God wanted them to help rebuild his temple, and they made plans to go to Jerusalem. Among them were priests, Levites, and leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. ⁶ The others helped by giving silver articles, gold, personal possessions, cattle, and other valuable gifts, as well as offerings for the temple.

⁷ King Cyrus gave back the things that Nebuchadnezzar^[c] had taken from the Lord's temple in Jerusalem and had put in the temple of his own gods. ⁸ Cyrus placed Mithredath, his chief treasurer, in charge of these things. Mithredath counted them and gave a list to Sheshbazzar, the governor of Judah. ^9-10 Included among them were: 30 large gold dishes; 1,000 large silver dishes; 29 other dishes;^[d] 30 gold bowls; 410 silver bowls; and 1,000 other articles.

¹¹ Altogether, there were 5,400 gold and silver dishes, bowls, and other articles. Sheshbazzar took them with him when he and the others returned to Jerusalem from Babylonia.

A List of People Who Returned from Exile

(Nehemiah 7.4-73)

2 King Nebuchadnezzar^[e] of Babylonia had captured many of the people of Judah and had taken them as prisoners to Babylonia. Now they were on their way back to Jerusalem and to their own towns everywhere in Judah.

^2-20 Zerubbabel, Joshua,^[f] Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah were in charge of the ones who were coming back. And here is a list of how many returned from each family group: 2,172 from Parosh; 372 from Shephatiah; 775 from Arah; 2,812 descendants of Jeshua and Joab^[g] from Pahath Moab; 1,254 from Elam; 945 from Zattu; 760 from Zaccai; 642 from Bani; 623 from Bebai; 1,222 from Azgad; 666 from Adonikam; 2,056 from Bigvai; 454 from Adin; 98 from Ater, also known as Hezekiah; 323 from Bezai; 112 from Jorah; 223 from Hashum; and 95 from Gibbar.

^21-35 Here is how many people returned whose ancestors had come from the following towns: 123 from Bethlehem; 56 from Netophah; 128 from Anathoth; 42 from Azmaveth; 743 from Kiriatharim, Chephirah, and Beeroth; 621 from Ramah and Geba; 122 from Michmas; 223 from Bethel and Ai; 52 from Nebo; 156 from Magbish; 1,254 from the other Elam; 320 from Harim; 725 from Lod, Hadid, and Ono; 345 from Jericho; and 3,630 from Senaah.

^36-39 Here is a list of how many returned from each family of priests: 973 descendants of Jeshua from the family of Jedaiah; 1,052 from the family of Immer; 1,247 from the family of Pashhur; and 1,017 from the family of Harim.

^40-42 And here is a list of how many returned from the families of Levites: 74 descendants of Hodaviah from the families of Jeshua and Kadmiel; 128 descendants of Asaph from the temple musicians; and 139 descendants of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai from the temple guards.

^43-54 Here is a list of the families of temple workers whose descendants returned: Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, Keros, Siaha, Padon, Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub, Hagab, Shamlai, Hanan, Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah, Besai, Asnah, Meunim, Nephisim, Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, Barkos, Sisera, Temah, Neziah, and Hatipha.

^55-57 Here is a list of Solomon's servants whose descendants returned: Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda, Jaalah, Darkon, Giddel, Shephatiah, Hattil, Pochereth Hazzebaim, and Ami.

⁵⁸ A total of 392 descendants of temple workers and of Solomon's servants returned.

^59-60 There were 652 who returned from the families of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda, though they could not prove that they were Israelites. They had lived in the Babylonian towns of Tel-Melah, Tel-Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer.

^61-62 The families of Habaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai could not prove that they were priests. The ancestor of the family of Barzillai had married the daughter of Barzillai from Gilead and had taken his wife's family name. But the records of these three families could not be found, and none of them were allowed to serve as priests. ^63 (C) In fact, the governor^[h] told them, “You cannot eat the food offered to God until we find out if you really are priests.”^[i]

^64-67 There were 42,360 who returned, in addition to 7,337 servants and 200 musicians, both women and men. They brought with them 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

⁶⁸ When the people came to where the Lord's temple had been in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders gave gifts so it could be rebuilt in the same place. ⁶⁹ They gave all they could, and it came to a total of 500 kilograms of gold, 500 kilograms of silver, and 100 robes for the priests.

^70 (D) Everyone returned to the towns from which their families had come, including the priests, the Levites, the musicians, the temple guards, and the workers.^[j]

The First Offering on the New Altar

3 During the seventh month^[k] of the year, the Israelites who had settled in their towns went to Jerusalem. ^2 (E) The priest Joshua son of Jozadak, together with the other priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his relatives rebuilt the altar of Israel's God. Then they were able to offer sacrifices there by following the instructions God had given to Moses, the man of God. ^3 (F) And they built the altar where it had stood before,^[l] even though they were afraid of the people who were already living around there. Then every morning and evening they burned sacrifices and offerings to the Lord.

^4 (G) The people followed the rules for celebrating the Festival of Shelters and offered the proper sacrifices each day. ^5 (H) They offered sacrifices to please the Lord,^[m] sacrifices at each New Moon Festival, and sacrifices at the rest of the Lord's festivals. Every offering the people had brought voluntarily was also presented to the Lord.

⁶ Although work on the temple itself had not yet begun, the people started offering sacrifices on the Lord's altar on the first day of the seventh month of that year.

The Rebuilding of the Temple Begins

⁷ King Cyrus of Persia had said the Israelites could have cedar trees brought from Lebanon to Joppa by sea. So they sent grain, wine, and olive oil to the cities of Tyre and Sidon as payment for these trees, and they gave money to the stoneworkers and carpenters.

⁸ During the second month^[n] of the second year after the people had returned from Babylonia, they started rebuilding the Lord's temple. Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the priests, the Levites, and everyone else who had returned started working. Every Levite over 20 years of age was put in charge of some part of the work. ⁹ The Levites in charge of the whole project were Joshua and his sons and relatives and Kadmiel and his sons from the family of Hodaviah.^[o] The family of Henadad worked along with them.

^10 (I) When the builders had finished laying the foundation of the temple, the priests put on their robes and blew trumpets in honor of the Lord, while the Levites from the family of Asaph praised God with cymbals. All of them followed the instructions given years before by King David.^{[p] 11 (J)} They praised the Lord and gave thanks as they took turns singing:

Everyone started shouting and praising the Lord because work on the foundation of the temple had begun. ^12 (K) Many of the older priests and Levites and the heads of families wept bitterly because they remembered seeing the first temple years before. But others were so happy that they celebrated with joyful shouts. ¹³ Their shouting and crying were so noisy that it all sounded alike and could be heard a long way off.

Foreigners^[q] Want To Help Rebuild the Temple

4 The enemies of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people had come back to rebuild the temple of the Lord God of Israel. ^2 (L) So they went to Zerubbabel and to the family leaders and said, “Let us help! Ever since King Esarhaddon of Assyria^[r] brought us here, we have worshiped your God and offered sacrifices to him.”

³ But Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the family leaders answered, “You cannot take part in building a temple for the Lord our God! We will build it ourselves, just as King Cyrus of Persia commanded us.”

⁴ Then the neighboring people began to do everything possible to frighten the Jews^[s] and to make them stop building. ⁵ During the time that Cyrus was king and even until Darius^[t] became king, they kept bribing government officials to slow down the work.

Trouble Rebuilding Jerusalem^[u]

^6 (M) In the first year that Xerxes was king,^[v] the neighboring people brought written charges against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

⁷ Later, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and their advisors got together and wrote a letter to Artaxerxes when he was king of Persia.^[w] It was written in Aramaic and had to be translated.^[x]

^8-10 [y] A letter was also written to Artaxerxes about Jerusalem by Governor Rehum, Secretary Shimshai, and their advisors, including the judges, the governors, the officials, and the local leaders. They were joined in writing this letter by people from Erech and Babylonia, the Elamites from Susa,^[z] and people from other foreign nations that the great and famous Ashurbanipal^[aa] had forced to settle in Samaria and other parts of Western Province.^[ab]

¹¹ This letter said:

Your Majesty King Artaxerxes, we are your servants from everywhere in Western Province, and we send you our greetings.

¹² You should know that the Jews who left your country have moved back to Jerusalem and are now rebuilding that rebellious city. In fact, they have almost finished rebuilding the walls and repairing the foundations. ¹³ You should also know that if the walls are completed and the city is rebuilt, the Jews won't pay any kind of taxes, and there will be less money in your treasury.

¹⁴ We are telling you this, because you have done so much for us, and we want everyone to respect you. ¹⁵ If you look up the official records of your ancestors, you will find that Jerusalem has constantly rebelled and has led others to rebel against kings and provinces. That's why the city was destroyed in the first place. ¹⁶ If Jerusalem is rebuilt and its walls completed, you will no longer have control over Western Province.

¹⁷ King Artaxerxes answered:

Greetings to Governor Rehum, Secretary Shimshai, and to your advisors in Samaria and other parts of Western Province.

¹⁸ After your letter was translated and read to me, ¹⁹ I had the old records checked. It is true that for years Jerusalem has rebelled and caused trouble for other kings and nations. ²⁰ And powerful kings have ruled Western Province from Jerusalem and have collected all kinds of taxes.

²¹ I want you to command the people to stop rebuilding the city until I give further notice. ²² Do this at once, so that no harm will come to the kingdom.

²³ As soon as this letter was read, Governor Rehum, Secretary Shimshai, and their advisors went to Jerusalem and forced everyone to stop rebuilding the city.

Work on the Temple Starts Again

^24 (N) The Jews were forced to stop work on the temple and were not able to do any more building until the year after Darius became king of Persia.^[ac] 5 ^1 (O) Then the Lord God of Israel told the prophets Haggai and Zechariah^[ad] to speak in his name to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. And they did. ^2 (P) So Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the priest urged the people to start working on the temple again, and God's prophets encouraged them.

³ Governor Tattenai of Western Province and his assistant Shethar Bozenai got together with some of their officials. Then they went to Jerusalem and said to the people, “Who told you to rebuild this temple? ⁴ Give us the names of the workers!”

⁵ But God was looking after the Jewish leaders. So the governor and his group decided not to make the people stop working on the temple until they could report to Darius and get his advice.

⁶ Governor Tattenai, Shethar Bozenai, and their advisors sent a report to Darius, ⁷ which said:

King Darius, we wish you the best! ⁸ We went to Judah, where the temple of the great God is being built with huge stones and wooden beams set in the walls. Everyone is working hard, and the building is going up quickly.

⁹ We asked those in charge to tell us who gave them permission to rebuild the temple. ¹⁰ We also asked for the names of their leaders, so that we could write them down for you.

¹¹ They claimed to be servants of the God who rules heaven and earth. And they said they were rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago by one of Israel's greatest kings.^[ae]

^12 (Q) We were told that their people had made God angry, and he let them be captured by Nebuchadnezzar,^[af] the Babylonian king^[ag] who took them away as captives to Babylonia. Nebuchadnezzar tore down their temple, ^13-15 (R) took its gold and silver articles, and put them in the temple of his own god in Babylon.

They also said that during the first year Cyrus was king of Babylonia,^[ah] he gave orders for God's temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem where it had stood before. So Cyrus appointed Sheshbazzar governor of Judah and sent these gold and silver articles for him to put in the temple. ¹⁶ Sheshbazzar then went to Jerusalem and laid the foundation for the temple, and the work is still going on.

¹⁷ Your Majesty, please order someone to look up the old records in Babylonia and find out if King Cyrus really did give orders to rebuild God's temple in Jerusalem. We will do whatever you think we should.

King Cyrus' Order Is Rediscovered

6 King Darius ordered someone to go through the old records kept in Babylonia. ² Finally, a scroll^[ai] was found in Ecbatana, the capital of Media Province, and it said:

This official record will show ³ that in the first year Cyrus was king, he gave orders to rebuild God's temple in Jerusalem, so that sacrifices and offerings could be presented there.^[aj] It is to be built 27 meters high and 27 meters wide, ⁴ with one^[ak] row of wooden beams for each three rows of large stones. The royal treasury will pay for everything. ⁵ Then the gold and silver things that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple and brought to Babylonia are to be returned to their proper places.

King Darius Orders the Work To Continue

⁶ King Darius sent this message:

Governor Tattenai of Western Province and Shethar Bozenai, you and your advisors must stay away from the temple. ⁷ Let the Jewish governor and leaders rebuild it where it stood before. And stop slowing them down!

⁸ Starting at once, I am ordering you to help the leaders by paying their expenses from the tax money collected in Western Province. ⁹ And don't fail to let the priests in Jerusalem have whatever they need each day so they can offer sacrifices to the God of heaven. Give them young bulls, rams, sheep, as well as wheat, salt, wine, and olive oil. ¹⁰ I want them to be able to offer pleasing sacrifices to God and to pray for me and my family.

¹¹ If any of you don't obey this order, a wooden beam will be taken from your house and sharpened on one end. Then it will be driven through your body,^[al] and your house will be torn down and turned into a garbage dump. ¹² I ask the God who is worshiped in Jerusalem to destroy any king or nation who tries either to change what I have said or to tear down his temple. I, Darius, give these orders, and I expect them to be followed carefully.

The Temple Is Dedicated

¹³ Governor Tattenai, Shethar Bozenai, and their advisors carefully obeyed King Darius. ^14 (S) With great success the Jewish leaders continued working on the temple, while Haggai and Zechariah encouraged them by their preaching. And so, the temple was completed at the command of the God of Israel and by the orders of kings Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes of Persia.^{[am] 15} On the third day of the month of Adar^[an] in the sixth year of the rule of Darius,^[ao] the temple was finished.

¹⁶ The people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and everyone else who had returned from exile were happy and celebrated as they dedicated God's temple. ¹⁷ One hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs were offered as sacrifices at the dedication. Also twelve goats were sacrificed as sin offerings for the twelve tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ Then the priests and Levites were assigned their duties in God's temple in Jerusalem, according to the instructions Moses had written.^[ap]

The Passover

^19 (T) Everyone who had returned from exile celebrated Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.^{[aq] 20} The priests and Levites had gone through a ceremony to make themselves acceptable to lead in worship. Then some of them killed Passover lambs for those who had returned, including the other priests and themselves.

²¹ The sacrifices were eaten by the Israelites who had returned and by the neighboring people who had given up the sinful customs of other nations in order to worship the Lord God of Israel. ²² For seven days they celebrated the Festival of Thin Bread. Everyone was happy because the Lord God of Israel had made sure that the king of Assyria^[ar] would be kind to them and help them build the temple.