Beginning

Enemies try to stop the work

4 The Israelites who had returned to Jerusalem from exile were building the temple for the Lord, Israel's God. The enemies of the people of Judah and Benjamin heard that the Israelites had begun to build.^{[a] 2} They went to speak to Zerubbabel and to the leaders of the Israelite families. They said, ‘Let us help you to build the temple. We also want to worship your God. We have lived in this country since Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, brought us here. All this time we have made sacrifices to your God.’

³ But Zerubbabel, Jeshua and the other leaders of Israel's people said, ‘No. You cannot help us to build the temple for our God. We must build it by ourselves for the Lord, Israel's God. That is what Cyrus, king of Persia, has commanded us to do.’

⁴ Then the people who lived near them tried to make Judah's people afraid. They tried to stop them building. ⁵ They paid bribes to government officers to work against the Israelite builders. Then they could not do the work. They continued to do this all the time that King Cyrus ruled Persia, until Darius became king.

More trouble for the Jews

⁶ When Xerxes became king of Persia, Judah's enemies wrote a letter to him.^[b] They said that the people who lived in Jerusalem and the rest of Judah were doing a bad thing.

⁷ Later, when Artaxerxes was king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and their friends wrote a letter to him. They wrote it in the Aramaic language. People translated it for the king to understand. ⁸ Rehum, the city's ruler, and Shimshai, his officer, wrote this letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes. This is what it said:

⁹ Rehum, your ruler, and Shimshai, his officer, write this letter to you. The other officers who work with us also send this letter to you. They are the judges and other officers and leaders, together with the people who came here from Erech, Babylon and Susa (the Elamites).^{[c] 10} It also comes from people of other nations who came to live in Samaria's cities. The great King Ashurbanipal sent those people to live in Samaria and in the region that is on the west side of the River Euphrates.^[d]

¹¹ This is the letter that they sent to Artaxerxes:

‘To King Artaxerxes,

from your servants in the land west of the Euphrates river.

¹² We want to tell the king what the Jews here are doing. They came here to Jerusalem from Babylon. Jerusalem has always been a bad city whose people do not obey their rulers. Now they are building the city again. They are building the city's walls and the foundations for other buildings.

¹³ So you should know that there will be trouble. If they build this city again, with its walls, they will not pay any more taxes to you. You will not receive any more money from them as their king. ¹⁴ We serve you as our king. We do not want you to lose honour. So we have sent this letter to you. ¹⁵ You should look for the books where your ancestors recorded news about Jerusalem. Then you will read many bad things about this city. You will see that its people have always turned against their rulers. Since long ago, they have not obeyed the kings or the region's officers. It is because they are so wicked that Babylon's army destroyed the city. ¹⁶ So we are telling the king that you should not let these people build up this city again, with its walls. If they do that, you will no longer have any authority in this region that is west of the Euphrates river.’

¹⁷ The king of Persia sent this reply:

‘To Rehum, my ruler, Shimshai, his officer, and all their friends in Samaria and in other parts of the region west of the Euphrates river. I thank you for your news.

¹⁸ People have translated the letter that you sent to me. They read it for me to listen to. ¹⁹ Then I commanded them to look in the old books. I have seen what the books say about Jerusalem. It is true that its people have always turned against the kings that ruled them. Since long ago, they have never obeyed their rulers. ²⁰ In the past, powerful kings have ruled over Jerusalem and all the region west of the Euphrates river. They received many kinds of taxes from the people there. ²¹ Now you must command these people to stop their work. They must not build the city again until I decide to let them do it. ²² You must be very careful to make sure that they stop. We do not want the danger to our kingdom to become any greater. Our authority to rule them as kings must continue.’

²³ Rehum, his officer, Shimshai, and their friends heard what the king's letter said. So they immediately took it to the Jews in Jerusalem. They used their power to command the Jews to stop their work.

²⁴ So the people did no more work on God's temple in Jerusalem. The work stopped until the second year that King Darius ruled Persia.

Tattenai writes to King Darius

5 Then the prophets Haggai and Iddo's grandson, Zechariah, spoke messages from God. They served Israel's God, and they spoke with his authority. They told God's message to the Jews who lived in Jerusalem and in other parts of Judea. ² Then Shealtiel's son, Zerubbabel, and Jozadak's son, Jeshua, started again to build God's temple in Jerusalem. God's prophets were there to help them.

³ At that time, Tattenai was the ruler who had authority over the region on the west side of the Euphrates river. He went with Shethar-Bozenai and their friends to ask the Jews what they were doing. They asked them, ‘Who gave you the authority to build this temple and make it ready to use again?’ ⁴ They also asked, ‘What are the names of the men who are building this place?’

⁵ But God was watching over the Jewish leaders. Nobody was able to stop them building at that time. The city's officers had to wait until they could send a letter to King Darius. They waited for him to reply.

⁶ Tattenai, the city's ruler, Shethar-Bozenai and their friends who had authority in the region west of the Euphrates river wrote to King Darius. ⁷ This is what they said:

King Darius, we hope that you are well.

⁸ We went to Judah to visit the temple of the great God. The king should know that the Jews are building it with big stones. They are putting wooden beams in its walls. They are working hard and very carefully. The building is growing fast.

⁹ We spoke to their leaders and we asked them, ‘Who gave you authority to build this temple and make it ready to use again?’ ¹⁰ We also asked them to tell us their names. Then we could tell you who the leaders are.

¹¹ This is the answer that they gave to us:

‘We are servants of the God who rules heaven and earth. A great king of Israel built this temple and finished it many years ago. Now we are building it again. ¹² Our ancestors made the God of heaven angry. So he let King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon have power over them. He destroyed this temple. Then he took our people as prisoners to Babylon.

¹³ But later, King Cyrus of Babylon commanded that we must build God's temple again. He said this in the first year that he was king. ¹⁴ He gave back to us the gold and silver things that belong in our God's temple. King Nebuchadnezzar had taken those things away from the temple in Jerusalem. He took them to Babylon and he put them in his own temple.

But King Cyrus gave our valuable things to Sheshbazzar. He had given authority to this man to rule over Judah. ¹⁵ He said to Sheshbazzar, “Take these things and put them safely in the temple in Jerusalem. Let the people build the house of God again, in the place where it used to be.” ¹⁶ So this man, Sheshbazzar, came here. He built the foundations of God's temple in Jerusalem. Since then we have continued to build it, but we have not finished it yet.’

¹⁷ If the king should choose, he may look in the books in Babylon's royal library. You should see whether King Cyrus did give a command about God's temple in Jerusalem. See if he said that the Jews should build it again. When you know what is true, you should decide what is right. Please tell us what we should do.

King Darius replies

6 King Darius told his officers to look in the books in the royal library. That was in Babylon, in the place where they stored important things. ² But it was in the region of Media that they found a scroll about the temple in Jerusalem. It was stored in a strong building in Ecbatana. This is what the scroll said:

‘This is an important note.

³ King Cyrus gave a command about God's temple in Jerusalem, in the first year that he ruled in Babylon. He said:

“The Jews must build their temple as a place where they can offer sacrifices to their God. They must build it on its foundations. They must make it 30 metres wide and 30 metres high. ⁴ They must build the walls with three rows of big stones, and then a row of wooden beams. They should take money from the king's palace to pay for the work. ⁵ We will give back to them the silver and gold things that belong in their God's temple. King Nebuchadnezzar took them from the temple in Jerusalem and he brought them here to Babylon. Now they must return to the place where they belong, in God's house in Jerusalem.”

⁶ So listen to me, Tattenai, my ruler of the region on the west side of the Euphrates river. You, Shethar-Bozenai and your other officers in that region must all stay away from the temple! ⁷ You must not do anything to stop the work on God's temple. The Jewish ruler and their leaders must continue to build this house of God. They must build it in its proper place.

⁸ So I will now tell you what you must do for the Jewish leaders. You must help them to build this temple again. Use the king's money to pay for everything that they need to continue the work. Use the taxes that we receive from people in the region west of the Euphrates river. The work on the building must not stop. ⁹ Also give to the priests the things that they need each day for their sacrifices to the God of heaven. Give them young bulls, male sheep and lambs to use as burnt offerings. Give them grain, salt, wine and olive oil. Whenever the priests in Jerusalem ask for something, you must be sure to give it to them. ¹⁰ Then their offerings will make the God of heaven happy. They will pray for God to bless the king and his family.

¹¹ Nobody may change what I have commanded in this letter. If anyone does not obey this command, men must remove a beam from the roof of his house. They must push the point of the beam through his body and lift him up on it. Then they must destroy his house so that it becomes a heap of stones. That is what he deserves.

¹² No king or nation should try to change my command. They must never destroy God's temple in Jerusalem. That is the place that he has chosen for people to worship him. I pray that he will remove anyone who tries to attack that place.

I, Darius, have made this command. Everyone must obey it completely.’

They finish the temple

¹³ Tattenai, ruler of the region west of the Euphrates river, Shethar-Bozenai and their friends carefully obeyed King Darius's command. ¹⁴ So the leaders of the Jews continued to build the temple. The work went very well. They listened to the messages from God that the prophet Haggai and Iddo's grandson, Zechariah, were teaching them. They finished building the temple. Israel's God had commanded them to do that. Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia, had also commanded them to do it. ¹⁵ They finished building the temple on the third day of Adar month. King Darius had then been king for six years.

¹⁶ Then the Israelite people offered the temple to God, so that he would bless it. The priests, the Levites and the other people who had returned from Babylon were all very happy. ¹⁷ They offered 100 bulls, 200 male sheep and 400 lambs. Then they sacrificed 12 male goats as a sin offering for all Israel. There was one goat for each of the 12 tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ They decided how each group of priests and Levites should work in God's temple in Jerusalem. Moses had written in his book how they should do this.

The Passover feast

¹⁹ On the 14th day of the first month, the people ate the Passover feast.^{[e] 20} The priests and Levites had all made themselves clean for their special work. The Levites killed the lambs for the Passover sacrifice. They did that on behalf of all the people, the priests and themselves. ²¹ So all the people who had returned from Babylon ate the feast. Other Israelites in Jerusalem had turned away from the bad things that other nations who lived there did. They had decided to worship the Lord, Israel's God. So they also ate the feast. ²² Then they ate the Feast of Flat Bread for seven days.^[f] The Lord had caused them to be very happy, because the king of Assyria had helped them. The Lord had made the king think in a different way about the Jews in Jerusalem. He had decided to help them to build the God of Israel's temple.

Ezra arrives in Jerusalem

7 After these things, Ezra came to Jerusalem from Babylon. This happened while Artaxerxes was king of Persia.

This is the list of Ezra's ancestors: He was the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah. ² Hilkiah was the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub. ³ Ahitub was the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth. ⁴ Meraioth was the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki. ⁵ Bukki was the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar. Eleazar was a son of Aaron, the leader of the priests.

⁶ This man Ezra arrived from Babylon. He was a teacher who knew the law of Moses very well. The Lord, Israel's God, had given that law to Moses. Ezra served the Lord as his God. The Lord was kind and he helped Ezra, so that the king of Persia gave him everything that he asked for. ⁷ In the seventh year that Artaxerxes was king, Ezra came together with other Israelites. They included priests, Levites, and singers, servants and guards for the temple.

⁸ Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of Artaxerxes' seventh year as king. ⁹ He left Babylon on the first day of the first month and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month. God had helped him with his journey. ¹⁰ God was kind to Ezra because Ezra had decided to study the law of the Lord. Ezra always obeyed its rules. He also taught the law and its rules to the Israelite people.

King Artaxerxes' letter to Ezra

¹¹ This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra, the priest and teacher. Ezra had studied the Lord's commands and laws for Israel.

¹² ‘From Artaxerxes, king of all kings.

To Ezra the priest, who has studied very well the law of the God of heaven. I hope that you are well.

¹³ I have given this command: When you travel to Jerusalem, any other Israelites who live in my kingdom may go with you. Anyone who wants to go may go. That includes priests and Levites. ¹⁴ The king and his seven officers are sending you with their authority. You have the law of your God that he has given to you. Go and see if your people in Judah and Jerusalem are obeying his law. ¹⁵ Take with you the gold and silver that I and my officers have sent. They are a free gift for Israel's God, whose house is in Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Also take the gold and silver that other people in Babylonia give to you. And take the gifts that the people and the priests have given for their God's temple in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ You must use the money to buy bulls, male sheep and lambs. You must also buy grain and wine to offer to your God. Offer them as sacrifices on the altar of your God's temple in Jerusalem.

¹⁸ You and your friends may then use the rest of the silver and gold in the way that you choose. Decide what your God wants you to do. ¹⁹ Also take the valuable things that you use to worship your God in his temple. Take them safely to him in Jerusalem. ²⁰ You may need other things to worship your God in his temple. You may take what you need from the royal store rooms.

²¹ I, King Artaxerxes, give this command to all my officers in the region on the west side of the Euphrates river: You must give Ezra anything that he asks for. He is a priest who studies the law of the God of heaven. ²² This is how much you may give to him:

²³ Be careful to give Ezra everything that the God of heaven wants for his temple. I do not want the God of heaven to be angry with the kingdom that I and my sons rule. ²⁴ You must not take any kinds of taxes from the men who serve this God in his house. You have no authority to do this. Take no taxes from the priests, the Levites, or the singers, guards, and servants who work in the temple.

²⁵ Ezra, your God has helped you to be wise. So you must choose judges and officers who know the laws of your God. Then they will decide things for all the people who live in the region on the west side of the Euphrates river. If the people do not know the laws of your God, you must teach them. ²⁶ Everyone must obey the laws of your God and also the laws of the king. If they do not obey, they deserve the right punishment. They may have to die. They may have to leave the country. They may have to lose their valuable things. They may have to go to prison.’

Ezra praises God

²⁷ I praise the Lord, the God that our ancestors worshipped. He has caused the king to give honour to him. He made the king decide to make the Lord's temple in Jerusalem very great. ²⁸ The Lord has been kind to me, so that the king, his helpers and his powerful officers have helped me. Because the Lord my God has been with me, he has helped me to be strong. I have been able to bring many of the leaders of Israel to Jerusalem with me.