Ezra 9:9
New King James Version
9 (A)For we were slaves. (B)Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but (C)He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us (D)a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
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Psalm 136:23-24
New King James Version
23 Who (A)remembered us in our lowly state,
For His mercy endures forever;
24 And (B)rescued us from our enemies,
For His mercy endures forever;
Ezra 7:6
New King James Version
6 this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was (A)a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, (B)according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.
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Zechariah 4:6-10
New King James Version
6 So he answered and said to me:
“This is the word of the Lord to (A)Zerubbabel:
(B)‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.
7 ‘Who are you, (C)O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth (D)the capstone
(E)With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”
8 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
9 “The hands of Zerubbabel
(F)Have laid the foundation of this [a]temple;
His hands (G)shall also finish it.
Then (H)you will know
That the (I)Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.
10 For who has despised the day of (J)small things?
For these seven rejoice to see
The [b]plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
(K)They are the eyes of the Lord,
Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
Footnotes
- Zechariah 4:9 Lit. house
- Zechariah 4:10 Lit. plummet stone
Zechariah 2:5
New King James Version
5 For I,’ says the Lord, ‘will be (A)a wall of fire all around her, (B)and I will be the glory in her midst.’ ”
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Haggai 1:9
New King James Version
9 (A)“You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, (B)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.
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Psalm 106:45-46
New King James Version
45 (A)And for their sake He remembered His covenant,
And (B)relented (C)according to the multitude of His mercies.
46 (D)He also made them to be pitied
By all those who carried them away captive.
Daniel 9:25
New King James Version
25 “Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until (A)Messiah (B)the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The [a]street shall be built again, and the [b]wall,
Even in troublesome times.
Footnotes
- Daniel 9:25 Or open square
- Daniel 9:25 Or moat
Ezekiel 11:16
New King James Version
16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, (A)yet I shall be a little [a]sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” ’
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- Ezekiel 11:16 holy place
Isaiah 5:5
New King James Version
5 And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard:
(A)I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned;
And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
Isaiah 5:2
New King James Version
2 He dug it up and cleared out its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine.
He built a tower in its midst,
And also [a]made a winepress in it;
(A)So He expected it to bring forth good grapes,
But it brought forth wild grapes.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 5:2 Lit. hewed out
Nehemiah 9:36-37
New King James Version
36 “Here (A)we are, servants today!
And the land that You gave to our fathers,
To eat its fruit and its bounty,
Here we are, servants in it!
37 And (B)it yields much increase to the kings
You have set over us,
Because of our sins;
Also they have (C)dominion over our bodies and our cattle
At their pleasure;
And we are in great distress.
Ezra 7:11-28
New King James Version
The Letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra
11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of His statutes to Israel:
To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven:
13 I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 And whereas you are being sent [c]by the king and his (C)seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, with regard to the Law of your God which is in your hand; 15 and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, (D)whose dwelling is in Jerusalem; 16 (E)and whereas all the silver and gold that you may find in all the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, are to be (F)freely offered for the [d]house of their God in Jerusalem— 17 now therefore, be careful to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their (G)grain offerings and their drink offerings, and (H)offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.
18 And whatever seems good to you and your brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do it according to the will of your God. 19 Also the articles that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. 20 And whatever more may be needed for the house of your God, which you may have occasion to provide, pay for it from the king’s treasury.
21 And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the region beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, let it be done diligently, 22 up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribed limit. 23 Whatever [e]is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the [f]house of the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?
24 Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tax, tribute, or custom on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God. 25 And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom, (I)set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and (J)teach those who do not know them. 26 Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it be death, or [g]banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.
27 (K)Blessed[h] be the Lord God of our fathers, (L)who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, 28 and (M)has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes.
So I was encouraged, as (N)the hand of the Lord my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me.
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Ezra 6:14-15
New King James Version
14 (A)So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the [a]command of (B)Cyrus, (C)Darius, and (D)Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezra 6:14 decree
Ezra 6:1-12
New King James Version
The Decree of Darius
6 Then King Darius issued a decree, (A)and a search was made in the [a]archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. 2 And at [b]Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of (B)Media, a scroll was found, and in it a record was written thus:
3 In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a (C)decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, 4 (D)with three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the (E)expenses be paid from the king’s treasury. 5 Also let (F)the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God”—
6 (G)Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your companions the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves far from there. 7 Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.
8 Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this [c]house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered. 9 And whatever they need—young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are in Jerusalem—let it be given them day by day without fail, 10 (H)that they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons.
11 Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it; (I)and let his house be made a refuse heap because of this. 12 And may the God who causes His (J)name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this [d]house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently.
Ezra 1:7-11
New King James Version
7 (A)King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, (B)which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put in the [a]temple of his gods; 8 and Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to (C)Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. 9 This is the number of them: thirty gold platters, one thousand silver platters, twenty-nine knives, 10 thirty gold basins, four hundred and ten silver basins of a similar kind, and one thousand other articles. 11 All the articles of gold and silver were five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar took with the captives who were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem.
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- Ezra 1:7 Lit. house
Ezra 1:1-4
New King James Version
End of the Babylonian Captivity(A)
1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord (B)by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, (C)so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,
2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:
All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has (D)commanded me to build Him a [a]house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. 3 Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (E)(He is God), which is in Jerusalem. 4 And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- Ezra 1:2 Temple
Ezra 7:8
New King James Version
8 And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.
Read full chapterScripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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