Beginning
The Decree of Cyrus
1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord given through the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia. Cyrus circulated a proclamation throughout his kingdom and recorded it in a written document.
2 This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
The Lord, the God of Heaven, has given all the kingdoms of the earth to me. He has appointed me to build a house[a] for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 From all his people, whoever among you is willing (may the Lord his God be with him) is permitted to go up to Jerusalem in Judah. He may build the House of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 Any of the exiles who have survived, in any place where they are living as resident aliens, may receive support from the people of that place: silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with their voluntary contributions for the House of the God who is in Jerusalem.
Preparations for the Return
5 Then the heads of the families[b] of Judah and Benjamin, the priests, and the Levites arose—everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to build the House of the Lord, which is in Jerusalem. 6 All of their neighbors supported them with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, with livestock, and with valuables, in addition to all kinds of voluntary contributions.
7 King Cyrus also brought out the vessels of the House of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and put into the house of his gods. 8 Now Cyrus king of Persia entrusted them to the treasurer Mithredath, and he counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the leader[c] of Judah.
9 This is a tally of several different kinds of vessels:
| gold dishes | 30 |
| silver dishes | 1,000 |
| pans[d] | 29 |
| 10 gold bowls | 30 |
| silver bowls of other kinds | 410 |
| other articles | 1,000 |
11 The total number of all of the gold and silver vessels was 5,400.
Sheshbazzar brought these things up to Jerusalem along with the exiles who went up to Jerusalem.
The List of Those Who Returned
2 Now these are the people[e] of the province who went up from the captivity of the exiles whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had exiled to Babylon. 2 The people who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua,[f] Nehemiah, Seraiah, Re’elaiah,[g] Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Ba’anah returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each man to his own city.
This is the tally of the men from the people of Israel:[h]
| 3 the male descendants[i] of Parosh: | 2,172 |
| 4 the male descendants of Shephatiah: | 372 |
| 5 the male descendants of Arah: | 775 |
| 6 the male descendants of Pahath Moab through the descendants of Jeshua and Joab: | 2,812 |
| 7 the male descendants of Elam: | 1,254 |
| 8 the male descendants of Zattu: | 945 |
| 9 the male descendants of Zakkai: | 760 |
| 10 the male descendants of Bani: | 642 |
| 11 the male descendants of Bebai: | 623 |
| 12 the male descendants of Azgad: | 1,222 |
| 13 the male descendants of Adonikam: | 666 |
| 14 the male descendants of Bigvai: | 2,056 |
| 15 the male descendants of Adin: | 454 |
| 16 the male descendants of Ater through Hezekiah: | 98 |
| 17 the male descendants of Bezai: | 323 |
| 18 the male descendants of Jorah: | 112 |
| 19 the male descendants of Hashum: | 223 |
| 20 the male descendants of Gibbar: | 95 |
| 21 the citizens[j] of Bethlehem: | 123 |
| 22 the men of Netophah: | 56 |
| 23 the men of Anathoth: | 128 |
| 24 the citizens of Azmaveth: | 42 |
| 25 the citizens of Kiriath Arim,[k] Kephirah, and Be’eroth: | 743 |
| 26 the citizens of Ramah and Geba: | 621 |
| 27 the men of Mikmash: | 122 |
| 28 the men of Bethel and Ai: | 223 |
| 29 the citizens of Nebo: | 52 |
| 30 the citizens of Magbish: | 156 |
| 31 the citizens of the other Elam: | 1,254 |
| 32 the citizens of Harim: | 320 |
| 33 the citizens of Lod, Hadid, and Ono: | 725 |
| 34 the citizens of Jericho: | 345 |
| 35 the citizens of Sena’ah: | 3,630 |
| 36 The priests:the descendants[l] of Jedaiah through the house of Jeshua: | 973 |
| 37 the descendants of Immer: | 1,052 |
| 38 the descendants of Pashhur: | 1,247 |
| 39 the descendants of Harim: | 1,017 |
| 40 The Levites:the descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel through the descendants of Hodaviah: | 74 |
| 41 The singers:the descendants of Asaph: | 128 |
| 42 The descendants of the gatekeepers:the descendants of Shallum, the descendants of Ater,the descendants of Talmon, the descendants of Akkub,the descendants of Hatita, the descendants of Shobai, in total: | 139 |
43 The temple servants:
the descendants of Ziha, the descendants of Hasupha,
the descendants of Tabbaoth, 44 the descendants of Keros,
the descendants of Siaha, the descendants of Padon,
45 the descendants of Lebanah, the descendants of Hagabah,
the descendants of Akkub, 46 the descendants of Hagab,
the descendants of Shamlai,[m] the descendants of Hanan,
47 the descendants of Giddel, the descendants of Gahar,
the descendants of Reaiah, 48 the descendants of Rezin,
the descendants of Nekoda, the descendants of Gazzam,
49 the descendants of Uzza, the descendants of Paseah,
the descendants of Besai, 50 the descendants of Asnah,
the descendants of Meunim, the descendants of Nephusim,[n]
51 the descendants of Bakbuk, the descendants of Hakupha,
the descendants of Harhur, 52 the descendants of Bazluth,
the descendants of Mehida, the descendants of Harsha,
53 the descendants of Barkos, the descendants of Sisera,
the descendants of Temah, 54 the descendants of Neziah,
the descendants of Hatipha.
55 The descendants of the servants of Solomon:
the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Hassophereth,
the descendants of Peruda, 56 the descendants of Ja’alah,
the descendants of Darkon, the descendants of Giddel,
57 the descendants of Shephatiah, the descendants of Hattil,
the descendants of Pokereth Hazzebaim, the descendants of Ami.
58 The total of the temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants was 392.
59 The following are the people who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addan, and Immer. They were not able to prove their ancestry or descent—whether they were from Israel:
60 the descendants of Delaiah, the descendants of Tobiah,
the descendants of Nekoda: 652,
61 from the descendants of the priests: the descendants of Habaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, the descendants of Barzillai, through a man who married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and so they were called by his family name.
62 These people searched for their genealogical records, but they could not find them, so they were disqualified from the priesthood. 63 The governor told them that they should not eat from the most holy sacrifices until a priest would arise who could serve with Urim and Thummim.
64 The entire assembly together numbered 42,360, 65 not counting their male slaves and their female slaves, who numbered 7,337. They also had 200 male and female singers. 66 Their horses numbered 736, their mules 245, 67 their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720.
68 So when the heads of the families came to the House of the Lord in Jerusalem, they gave voluntary contributions for God’s house in order to construct it on its site. 69 On the basis of their wealth, they gave the following amounts to the treasury to support the work: 61,000 gold darics,[o] 5,000 silver minas,[p] and 100 garments for the priests.
70 The priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, the temple servants, and some of the people settled in Jerusalem and its towns,[q] and all the rest of Israel settled in their towns.
Beginning the Construction of the Second Temple
3 When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites were living in their own cities, the people gathered together in Jerusalem.
2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak with his fellow priests along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel with his colleagues[r] arose and built the altar of the God of Israel in order to offer burnt offerings upon it, as it is written in the Law of Moses, the man of God. 3 They set the altar on its foundations, although they were in terror of the peoples of the lands. They offered burnt offerings to the Lord upon it—burnt offerings in the evening and in the morning.
4 They observed the Festival of Shelters,[s] according to the written directions, and they offered the daily burnt offerings in the number specified for each day of the festival. 5 After this, they offered the regular burnt offerings, those for the new moons, those for all the appointed assemblies of the Lord, and the offerings for everyone who was bringing a voluntary contribution to offer to the Lord. 6 From the first day of the seventh month, they began to offer burnt offerings, although the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not yet been laid.
7 They gave money to the stonemasons and craftsmen, and they gave food, drink, and olive oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians to pay them for bringing cedar logs from Lebanon to the seaport at Joppa, according to the authorization that had been given to them by Cyrus king of Persia.
8 In the second year after their arrival at the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, along with the rest of their colleagues, the priests and the Levites, and everyone who returned from the captivity to Jerusalem began the work.
They appointed Levites who were twenty years old and older to supervise the work on the house for the Lord. 9 Jeshua together with his sons and brothers and Kadmiel with his sons (they were descendants of Judah[t]) assumed supervision over those working on the house for God. (The Levites who were descendants of Henadad, along with their sons and brothers, also supervised.)
10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests, dressed in their robes, stood by with trumpets, and the Levites, the descendants of Asaph, stood by with cymbals to praise the Lord as prescribed by David king of Israel. 11 They sang antiphonally to praise and thank the Lord:
Truly, he is good, because his mercy toward Israel endures forever.
All the people shouted loud praise to the Lord when the foundation of the House of the Lord was laid. 12 However, when many of the older priests, Levites, and heads of families, who had seen the first house, saw this house being founded, they wept loudly, although many also raised their voices in a shout of joy. 13 The people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful cry from the sound of the people weeping, because the people were shouting loudly, and the sound could be heard far away.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.