I weighed out to them 650 talents of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold,

20 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 darics, and two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold.

From the days of our ancestors until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today.

Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness 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, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.