Darius Finds Cyrus’s Decree

6 Then King Darius issued a decree, and ^(A)search was made in the ^[a]archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. ² In ^[b]Ecbatana in the fortress, which is ^(B)in the province of Media, a scroll was found and there was written in it as follows: “Memorandum— ^3 (C)In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: ‘Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the ^[c]temple, the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt and let its foundations be ^[d]retained, its height being 60 cubits and its width 60 cubits; ^4 (D)with three layers of huge stones and ^[e]one layer of timbers. And let the cost be paid from the ^[f]royal treasury. ⁵ Also let ^(E)the gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and ^[g]brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’

⁶ “Now therefore, ^(F)Tattenai, governor of the province beyond the ^[h]River, Shethar-bozenai and ^[i]your colleagues, the officials of the provinces beyond the ^[j]River, ^[k]keep away from there. ⁷ Leave this work on the house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. ⁸ Moreover, ^(G)I issue a decree concerning what you are to do for these elders of Judah in the rebuilding of this house of God: the full cost is to be paid to these people from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces beyond the River, and that without delay. ⁹ Whatever is needed, both young bulls, rams, and lambs for a burnt offering to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and anointing oil, as the priests in Jerusalem request, it is to be given to them daily without fail, ¹⁰ that they may offer ^[l]acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and ^(H)pray for the life of the king and his sons. ¹¹ And I issued a decree that ^(I)any man who violates this edict, a timber shall be drawn from his house and he shall be impaled on it and ^(J)his house shall be made a refuse heap on account of this. ¹² May the God who ^(K)has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who ^[m]attempts to change it, so as to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree, let it be carried out with all diligence!”

The Temple Completed and Dedicated

¹³ Then ^(L)Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues carried out the decree with all diligence, just as King Darius had sent. ¹⁴ And ^(M)the elders of the Jews ^[n]were successful in building through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And ^[o]they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decree ^(N)of Cyrus, ^(O)Darius, and ^(P)Artaxerxes king of Persia. ¹⁵ This ^[p]temple was completed ^[q]on the third day of the ^(Q)month Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

¹⁶ And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites and the rest of the ^[r]exiles, ^(R)celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. ¹⁷ They offered for the dedication of this temple of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel ^(S)12 male goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ Then they appointed the priests to ^(T)their divisions and the Levites in ^(U)their orders for the service of God ^[s]in Jerusalem, ^(V)as it is written in the book of Moses.

The Passover Observed

^19 (W)The exiles observed the Passover on ^(X)the fourteenth of the first month. ^20 (Y)For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were pure. Then ^(Z)they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, both for their brothers the priests and for themselves. ²¹ The sons of Israel who returned from exile and ^(AA)all those who had separated themselves from ^(AB)the impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek the Lord God of Israel, ate the Passover. ²² And ^(AC)they observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had caused them to rejoice, and ^(AD)had turned the heart of ^(AE)the king of Assyria toward them to ^[t]encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Ezra Journeys from Babylon to Jerusalem

7 ^(AF)Now after these things, in the reign of ^(AG)Artaxerxes king of Persia, there went up Ezra son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, ² son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, ³ son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, ⁴ son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, ⁵ son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest. ⁶ This Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a ^(AH)scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all ^[u]he requested ^(AI)because the hand of the Lord his God was upon him. ^7 (AJ)Some of the sons of Israel and some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

⁸ He came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. ⁹ For on the first of the first month ^[v]he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^(AK)because the good hand of his God was upon him. ¹⁰ For Ezra had set his heart to ^[w]study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and ^(AL)to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

King’s Decree on Behalf of Ezra

¹¹ Now this is the copy of the decree which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, ^[x]learned in the words of the commandments of the Lord and His statutes to Israel: ¹² “^[y]Artaxerxes, ^(AM)king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace. And now ^13 (AN)I have issued a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. ¹⁴ Forasmuch as you are sent ^[z]by the king and his ^(AO)seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God which is in your hand, ¹⁵ and to bring the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, ^(AP)whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶ with ^(AQ)all the silver and gold which you find in the whole province of Babylon, along ^(AR)with the freewill offering of the people and of the priests, who ^(AS)offered willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem; ¹⁷ with this money, therefore, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams and lambs, ^(AT)with their grain offerings and their drink offerings and ^(AU)offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ Whatever seems good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do according to the will of your God. ¹⁹ Also the utensils which are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. ²⁰ The rest of the needs for the house of your God, for which you may have occasion to provide, ^(AV)provide for it from the royal treasury.

²¹ “I, even I, King Artaxerxes, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the provinces beyond the ^[aa]River, that whatever Ezra the priest, ^(AW)the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it shall be done diligently, ²² even up to 100 talents of silver, 100 ^[ab]kors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt ^[ac]as needed. ²³ Whatever is ^[ad]commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with zeal for the house of the God of heaven, ^(AX)so that there will not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons. ²⁴ We also inform you that ^(AY)it is not allowed to ^[ae]impose tax, tribute or toll ^(AZ)on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, Nethinim or servants of this house of God.

²⁵ “You, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which is in your hand, ^(BA)appoint magistrates and judges that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the River, even all those who know the laws of your God; and you may ^(BB)teach anyone who is ignorant of them. ^26 (BC)Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him strictly, whether for death or for ^[af]banishment or for confiscation of goods or for imprisonment.”

The King’s Kindness

²⁷ Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, ^(BD)who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to adorn the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, ²⁸ and ^(BE)has extended lovingkindness to me before the king and his counselors and before all the king’s mighty princes. Thus I was strengthened according to ^(BF)the hand of the Lord my God upon me, and I gathered ^[ag]leading men from Israel to go up with me.

People Who Went with Ezra

8 Now these are the heads of their fathers’ households and the genealogical enrollment of those who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes: ² of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, ^(BG)Hattush; ³ of the sons of Shecaniah who was of the sons of ^(BH)Parosh, Zechariah and with him 150 males who were in the genealogical list; ⁴ of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and 200 males with him; ⁵ of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel and 300 males with him; ⁶ and of the sons of ^(BI)Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and 50 males with him; ⁷ and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and 70 males with him; ⁸ and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael and 80 males with him; ⁹ of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 218 males with him; ¹⁰ and of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah and 160 males with him; ¹¹ and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai and 28 males with him; ¹² and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 males with him; ¹³ and of the sons of Adonikam, the last ones, these being their names, Eliphelet, Jeuel and Shemaiah, and 60 males with them; ¹⁴ and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and ^[ah]Zabbud, and 70 males with ^[ai]them.

Ezra Sends for Levites

¹⁵ Now I assembled them at ^(BJ)the river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days; and when I observed the people and the priests, I ^(BK)did not find any Levites there. ¹⁶ So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah and Meshullam, ^[aj]leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, teachers. ¹⁷ I sent them to Iddo the ^[ak]leading man at the place Casiphia; and I ^[al]told them what to say to ^[am]Iddo and his brothers, ^(BL)the temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring ministers to us for the house of our God. ^18 (BM)According to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a ^(BN)man of insight of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, and his sons and brothers, 18 men; ¹⁹ and Hashabiah and ^[an]Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, 20 men; ²⁰ and 220 of ^(BO)the temple servants, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, all of them designated by name.

Protection of God Invoked

²¹ Then I proclaimed ^(BP)a fast there at ^(BQ)the river of Ahava, that we might ^(BR)humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a ^[ao]safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. ²² For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to ^[ap]protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “^(BS)The hand of our God is ^[aq]favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but ^(BT)His power and His anger are against all those who ^(BU)forsake Him.” ²³ So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He ^[ar](BV)listened to our entreaty.

²⁴ Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, ^(BW)Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers; ²⁵ and I ^(BX)weighed out to them ^(BY)the silver, the gold and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king and ^(BZ)his counselors and his princes and all Israel present there had offered. ^26 (CA)Thus I weighed into their hands 650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth 100 talents, and 100 gold talents, ²⁷ and 20 gold bowls worth 1,000 darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold. ²⁸ Then I said to them, “^(CB)You are holy to the Lord, and the ^(CC)utensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord God of your fathers. ²⁹ Watch and keep them ^(CD)until you weigh them before the leading priests, the Levites and the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.” ³⁰ So the priests and the Levites ^(CE)accepted the weighed out silver and gold and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

³¹ Then we journeyed from ^(CF)the river Ahava on ^(CG)the twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and ^(CH)the hand of our God was over us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the way. ^32 (CI)Thus we came to Jerusalem and remained there three days.

Treasure Placed in the Temple

³³ On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils ^(CJ)were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of ^(CK)Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. ³⁴ Everything was numbered and weighed, and all the weight was recorded at that time.

^35 (CL)The exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: ^(CM)12 bulls for all Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, 12 male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to the Lord. ³⁶ Then ^(CN)they delivered the king’s edicts to ^(CO)the king’s satraps and to the governors in the provinces beyond the ^[as]River, and they supported the people and the house of God.

Servants of Christ

4 Let a man regard us in this manner, as ^(A)servants of Christ and ^(B)stewards of ^(C)the mysteries of God. ² In this case, moreover, it is required ^[a]of stewards that one be found trustworthy. ³ But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human ^[b]court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. ⁴ For I ^(D)am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this ^(E)acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. ⁵ Therefore ^(F)do not go on ^[c]passing judgment before ^[d]the time, but wait ^(G)until the Lord comes who will both ^(H)bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s ^(I)praise will come to him from God.

⁶ Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed ^(J)what is written, so that no one of you will ^(K)become ^[e]arrogant ^(L)in behalf of one against the other. ⁷ For who regards you as superior? ^(M)What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸ You are ^(N)already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you. ⁹ For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men ^(O)condemned to death; because we ^(P)have become a spectacle to the world, ^[f]both to angels and to men. ¹⁰ We are ^(Q)fools for Christ’s sake, but ^(R)you are prudent in Christ; ^(S)we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. ¹¹ To this present hour we are both ^(T)hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; ¹² and we toil, ^(U)working with our own hands; when we are ^(V)reviled, we bless; when we are ^(W)persecuted, we endure; ¹³ when we are slandered, we try to ^[g]conciliate; we have ^(X)become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.

¹⁴ I do not write these things to ^(Y)shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved ^(Z)children. ¹⁵ For if you were to have countless ^(AA)tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in ^(AB)Christ Jesus I ^(AC)became your father through the ^(AD)gospel. ¹⁶ Therefore I exhort you, be ^(AE)imitators of me. ¹⁷ For this reason I ^(AF)have sent to you ^(AG)Timothy, who is my ^(AH)beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, ^(AI)just as I teach everywhere in every church. ¹⁸ Now some have become ^[h](AJ)arrogant, as though I were not ^(AK)coming to you. ¹⁹ But I ^(AL)will come to you soon, ^(AM)if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the ^[i]words of those who are ^(AN)arrogant but their power. ²⁰ For the kingdom of God does ^(AO)not consist in ^[j]words but in power. ²¹ What do you desire? ^(AP)Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?