Ezra 3:8-13
New King James Version
Restoration of the Temple Begins
8 Now in the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, (A)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of [a]Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began work (B)and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work of the house of the Lord. 9 Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of [b]Judah, arose as one to oversee those working on the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren the Levites.
10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, (C)the[c] priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the (D)ordinance[d] of David king of Israel. 11 (E)And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord:
Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.
12 But many of the priests and Levites and (H)heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off.
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Psalm 126
New King James Version
A Joyful Return to Zion
A Song of Ascents.
126 When (A)the Lord brought back [a]the captivity of Zion,
(B)We were like those who dream.
2 Then (C)our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the [b]nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
And we are glad.
4 Bring back our captivity, O Lord,
As the streams in the South.
5 (D)Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
6 He who continually goes [c]forth weeping,
Bearing [d]seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again [e]with (E)rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.
Footnotes
- Psalm 126:1 Those of the captivity
- Psalm 126:2 Gentiles
- Psalm 126:6 to and fro
- Psalm 126:6 Lit. a bag of seed for sowing
- Psalm 126:6 with shouts of joy
Ezra 4:1-5
New King James Version
Resistance to Rebuilding the Temple
4 Now when (A)the [a]adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him (B)since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, (C)“You may do nothing with us to build a [b]house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as (D)King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4 Then (E)the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, 5 and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of (F)Darius king of Persia.
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Ezra 4:24
New King James Version
24 Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
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Psalm 123
New King James Version
Prayer for Relief from Contempt
A Song of Ascents.
123 Unto You (A)I lift up my eyes,
O You (B)who dwell in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
(C)So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He has mercy on us.
3 Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scorn of those who are at ease,
With the contempt of the proud.
Psalm 129
New King James Version
Song of Victory over Zion’s Enemies
A Song of Ascents.
129 “Many a time they have (A)afflicted[a] me from (B)my youth,”
(C)Let Israel now say—
2 “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth;
Yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed on my back;
They made their furrows long.”
4 The Lord is righteous;
He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked.
5 Let all those who hate Zion
Be put to shame and turned back.
6 Let them be as the (D)grass on the housetops,
Which withers before it grows up,
7 With which the reaper does not fill his hand,
Nor he who binds sheaves, his [b]arms.
8 Neither let those who pass by them say,
(E)“The blessing of the Lord be upon you;
We bless you in the name of the Lord!”
Footnotes
- Psalm 129:1 persecuted
- Psalm 129:7 armsful, lit. bosom
Ezra 5:1
New King James Version
Restoration of the Temple Resumed(A)
5 Then the prophet (B)Haggai and (C)Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.
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Haggai 1
New King James Version
The Command to Build God’s House(A)
1 In (B)the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by (C)Haggai the prophet to (D)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to (E)Joshua the son of (F)Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.” ’ ”
3 Then the word of the Lord (G)came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it (H)time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this [a]temple to lie in ruins?” 5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: (I)“Consider your ways!
6 “You have (J)sown much, and bring in little;
You eat, but do not have enough;
You drink, but you are not filled with drink;
You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;
And (K)he who earns wages,
Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”
7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! 8 Go up to the (L)mountains and bring wood and build the [b]temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord. 9 (M)“You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, (N)I blew it away. Why?” says the Lord of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore (O)the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. 11 For I (P)called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on (Q)all the labor of your hands.”
The People’s Obedience
12 (R)Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him; and the people feared the presence of the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, spoke the Lord’s message to the people, saying, (S)“I am with you, says the Lord.” 14 So (T)the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (U)governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; (V)and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.
Footnotes
- Haggai 1:4 Lit. house
- Haggai 1:8 Lit. house
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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