Though we are slaves,(A) our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness(B) in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins,(C) and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.

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23 He remembered us(A) in our low estate
His love endures forever.
24 and freed us(B) from our enemies.(C)
His love endures forever.

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this Ezra(A) came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted(B) him everything he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.(C)

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So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:(A) ‘Not(B) by might nor by power,(C) but by my Spirit,’(D) says the Lord Almighty.

“What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground.(E) Then he will bring out the capstone(F) to shouts(G) of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’”

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation(H) of this temple; his hands will also complete it.(I) Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me(J) to you.

10 “Who dares despise the day(K) of small things,(L) since the seven eyes(M) of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone[a] in the hand of Zerubbabel?”(N)

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 4:10 Or the plumb line

And I myself will be a wall(A) of fire(B) around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory(C) within.’(D)

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“You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little.(A) What you brought home, I blew(B) away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin,(C) while each of you is busy with your own house.

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45 for their sake he remembered his covenant(A)
    and out of his great love(B) he relented.(C)
46 He caused all who held them captive
    to show them mercy.(D)

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25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild(A) Jerusalem until the Anointed One,[a](B) the ruler,(C) comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 9:25 Or an anointed one; also in verse 26

16 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary(A) for them in the countries where they have gone.’

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Now I will tell you
    what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
    and it will be destroyed;(A)
I will break down its wall,(B)
    and it will be trampled.(C)

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He dug it up and cleared it of stones
    and planted it with the choicest vines.(A)
He built a watchtower(B) in it
    and cut out a winepress(C) as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
    but it yielded only bad fruit.(D)

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36 “But see, we are slaves(A) today, slaves in the land you gave our ancestors so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces. 37 Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.(B)

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King Artaxerxes’ Letter to Ezra

11 This is a copy of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law, a man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the Lord for Israel:

12 Artaxerxes, king of kings,(A)

To Ezra the priest, teacher of the Law of the God of heaven:

Greetings.

13 Now I decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including priests and Levites, who volunteer to go to Jerusalem with you, may go. 14 You are sent by the king and his seven advisers(B) to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God, which is in your hand. 15 Moreover, you are to take with you the silver and gold that the king and his advisers have freely given(C) to the God of Israel, whose dwelling(D) is in Jerusalem, 16 together with all the silver and gold(E) you may obtain from the province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests for the temple of their God in Jerusalem.(F) 17 With this money be sure to buy bulls, rams and male lambs,(G) together with their grain offerings and drink offerings,(H) and sacrifice(I) them on the altar of the temple of your God in Jerusalem.

18 You and your fellow Israelites may then do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, in accordance with the will of your God. 19 Deliver(J) to the God of Jerusalem all the articles entrusted to you for worship in the temple of your God. 20 And anything else needed for the temple of your God that you are responsible to supply, you may provide from the royal treasury.(K)

21 Now I, King Artaxerxes, decree that all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates are to provide with diligence whatever Ezra the priest, the teacher of the Law of the God of heaven, may ask of you— 22 up to a hundred talents[a] of silver, a hundred cors[b] of wheat, a hundred baths[c] of wine, a hundred baths[d] of olive oil, and salt without limit. 23 Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be done with diligence for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should his wrath fall on the realm of the king and of his sons?(L) 24 You are also to know that you have no authority to impose taxes, tribute or duty(M) on any of the priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers, temple servants or other workers at this house of God.(N)

25 And you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom of your God, which you possess, appoint(O) magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people of Trans-Euphrates—all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach(P) any who do not know them. 26 Whoever does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king must surely be punished by death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.[e](Q)

27 Praise be to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king’s heart(R) to bring honor(S) to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in this way 28 and who has extended his good favor(T) to me before the king and his advisers and all the king’s powerful officials. Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me,(U) I took courage and gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 7:22 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons
  2. Ezra 7:22 That is, probably about 18 tons or about 16 metric tons
  3. Ezra 7:22 That is, about 600 gallons or about 2,200 liters
  4. Ezra 7:22 That is, about 600 gallons or about 2,200 liters
  5. Ezra 7:26 The text of 7:12-26 is in Aramaic.

14 So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching(A) of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus,(B) Darius(C) and Artaxerxes,(D) kings of Persia. 15 The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.(E)

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The Decree of Darius

King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives(A) stored in the treasury at Babylon. A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it:

Memorandum:

In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:

Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid.(B) It is to be sixty cubits[a] high and sixty cubits wide, with three courses(C) of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury.(D) Also, the gold(E) and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God.(F)

Now then, Tattenai,(G) governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai(H) and you other officials of that province, stay away from there. Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site.

Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God:

Their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury,(I) from the revenues(J) of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings(K) to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and olive oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given them daily without fail, 10 so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.(L)

11 Furthermore, I decree that if anyone defies this edict, a beam is to be pulled from their house and they are to be impaled(M) on it. And for this crime their house is to be made a pile of rubble.(N) 12 May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there,(O) overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem.

I Darius(P) have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 6:3 That is, about 90 feet or about 27 meters

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](A) Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar(B) the prince of Judah.

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.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 1:7 Or gods
  2. Ezra 1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return(A)

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:

“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. 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. 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)

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Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king.

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