Beginning
Cyrus Decrees: Rebuild the Temple
1 Now in the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to accomplish the word of Adonai from the mouth of Jeremiah, Adonai stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict, saying:
2 “Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: Adonai, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build a House for Him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you from all His people—may his God be with him—may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the House of Adonai, the God of Israel—He is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 As for anyone who remains, wherever they may be living, let the people of those places supply him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the House of God in Jerusalem.”
5 So the patriarchal leaders of Judah and Benjamin, along with the kohanim and the Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred up—arose to go up to build the House of Adonai in Jerusalem. 6 All those around them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, gold, goods, cattle and valuable gifts, besides all that was willingly offered.
7 Then King Cyrus brought out the vessels from the House of Adonai that Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. 8 King Cyrus of Persia had them brought out by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out for Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. 9 And this was the inventory of them:
gold basins—30
silver basins—1,000
silver utensils—29
10 gold bowls—30
other silver bowls—410
other vessels—1,000
11 In all there were 5,400 vessels of gold and silver. Sheshbatzar brought them all along when the exiles were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Numbering Those Returning
2 Now these are the people of the province who went up from the captives of the exile, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive to Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town. 2 They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordechai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah.
The number of men of the people of Israel:
3 the sons of Parosh—2,172
4 the sons of Shephatiah—372
5 the sons of Arah—775
6 the sons of Pahath-moab,
of the sons of Jeshua and Joab—2,812
7 the sons of Elam—1,254
8 the sons of Zattu—945
9 the sons of Zaccai—760
10 the sons of Bani—642
11 the sons of Bebai—623
12 the sons of Azgad—1,222
13 the sons of Adonikam—666
14 the sons of Bigvai—2,056
15 the sons of Adin—454
16 the sons of Ater, of Hezekiah—98
17 the sons of Bezai—323
18 the sons of Jorah—112
19 the sons of Hashum—223
20 the sons of Gibbar—95
21 the sons of Beth-lehem—123
22 the men of Netophah—56
23 the men of Anathoth—128
24 the sons of Azmaveth—42
25 the sons of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah,
and Beerot—743
26 the sons of Ramah and Geba—621
27 the men of Michmas—122
28 the men of Beth-el and Ai—223
29 the sons of Nebo—52
30 the son of Magbish—156
31 the sons of the other Elam—1,254
32 the sons of Harim—320
33 the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono—725
34 the sons of Jericho—345
35 the sons of Senaah—3,630
36 The kohanim:
the sons of Jedaiah from the house of Jeshua—973
37 the sons of Immer—1,052
38 the sons of Pashhur—1,247
39 the sons of Harim—1,017
40 The Levites:
the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel
(through the line of Hodaviah)—74
41 The singers
the sons of Asaph—128
42 The sons of the gatekeepers:
the sons of Shallum,
the sons of Ater,
the sons of Talmon,
the sons of Akkub,
the sons of Hatita,
and the sons of Shobai—in all 139
43 The Temple servants:
the sons of Ziha, the sons Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,
44 the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon,
45 the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub,
46 the sons of Hagab, the sons of Salmai, the sons of Hanan,
47 the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah,
48 the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam,
49 the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai,
50 the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephusim,
51 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,
52 the sons of Batzluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,
53 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah
54 the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.
55 The sons of Solomon’s servants:
the sons of Sotai, the sons of Hassophereth, the sons of Peruda,
56 the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,
57 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil,
the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, and the sons of Ami.
58 All the Temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants—392.
59 The following came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsa, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, but they were not able to prove their family connection[a] or their ancestry[b] whether they were from Israel:
60 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda—652.
61 Also from the sons of the kohanim:
the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, and the sons of Barzillai. (He took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was subsequently called by their name). 62 These sought their records in the genealogical lists, but did not find them. So they were disqualified from the priesthood. 63 As a result, the governor said to them that they should not eat any of the most holy food until a kohen was ministering with the Urim and Thummim.
64 The entire assembly totaled 42,360, 65 not including their male and female servants, who numbered 7,337. They also had 200 male and female singers. 66 They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 67 435 camels, 6,702 donkeys.
68 When they arrived at the House of Adonai in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave voluntary offerings toward the rebuilding of the House of God on its foundation. 69 According to their ability, they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 gold drachmas, 5,000 silver minas and 100 priestly
tunics.
70 Now the kohanim, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers and the Temple servants settled in their own towns, and all the rest of Israel in their towns.
Rebuilding the Temple
3 When the seventh month arrived and the sons of Israel were settled in the towns, the people gathered together as one man in Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak, his fellow kohanim, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel, in order to offer burnt offerings on it as written in the Torah of Moses, the man of God. 3 They set up the altar on its fixed resting place despite their fear of the peoples of the lands and they offered burnt offerings on it to Adonai, both the morning and the evening sacrifices. 4 They also kept the Feast of Sukkot as it is written and offered the prescribed number of daily burnt offerings according to the requirement for each day.
5 After that they presented the regular burnt offerings, the new moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the sacred moadim of Adonai, as well as all the freewill offerings brought to Adonai. 6 From the first day of the seventh month, they began to offer burnt offerings to Adonai, though the foundation of the Temple of Adonai had not been laid. 7 So they gave money to the stone-masons and carpenters, and food, beverages, and oil to the Sidonians and to the Tyrians to bring cedar trees by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by King Cyrus of Persia.
8 In the second month of the second year after they had come to the House of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers—the kohanim, the Levites and all who returned from captivity to Jerusalem—began the work. They appointed the Levites from twenty years of age and older to supervise the work on the House of Adonai.
9 Then Jeshua, his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, stood together to supervise those working in the House of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their brothers, the Levites.
10 When the builders had laid the foundation of the Temple of Adonai, the kohanim, arrayed in their vestments and with clarions, and the Levites sons of Asaph with cymbals, were stationed to praise Adonai as prescribed by King David of Israel. 11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to Adonai,
“For He is good;
For His mercy upon Israel
endures forever.”
Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to Adonai because the foundation of the House of Adonai had been laid. 12 But many of the kohanim, Levites and patriarchal leaders, older men who had seen the former House, wept loudly at the sight of the founding of this House, while many shouted for joy. 13 People could not distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of the people’s weeping. For the people were shouting so loudly that the sound was heard far away.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.