Old/New Testament
Chapter 6
The Decree of Darius. 1 [a]Thereupon King Darius issued an order to search the archives in which the treasures were stored in Babylon. 2 (A)However, a scroll was found in Ecbatana, the stronghold in the province of Media, containing the following text: “Memorandum. 3 In the first year of his reign, King Cyrus issued a decree: With regard to the house of God in Jerusalem: the house is to be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices and bringing burnt offerings. Its height is to be sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits. 4 It shall have three courses of cut stone for each one of timber. The costs are to be borne by the royal house. 5 Also, let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple of Jerusalem and brought to Babylon be sent back; let them be returned to their place in the temple of Jerusalem and deposited in the house of God.”
6 “Now, therefore, Tattenai, governor of West-of-Euphrates, and Shethar-bozenai, and you, their fellow officials in West-of-Euphrates, stay away from there. 7 Let the governor and the elders of the Jews continue the work on that house of God; they are to rebuild it on its former site. 8 I also issue this decree concerning your dealing with these elders of the Jews in the rebuilding of that house of God: Let these men be repaid for their expenses, in full and without delay from the royal revenue, deriving from the taxes of West-of-Euphrates, so that the work not be interrupted. 9 Whatever else is required—young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the requirements of the priests who are in Jerusalem—let that be delivered to them day by day without fail, 10 that they may continue to offer sacrifices of pleasing odor to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. 11 I also issue this decree: if any man alters this edict, a beam is to be taken from his house, and he is to be lifted up and impaled on it; and his house is to be reduced to rubble for this offense. 12 And may the God who causes his name to dwell there overthrow every king or people who may undertake to alter this decree or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree; let it be diligently executed.”
The Task Finally Completed. 13 Then Tattenai, the governor of West-of-Euphrates, and Shethar-bozenai, and their fellow officials carried out with all diligence the instructions King Darius had sent them. 14 The elders of the Jews continued to make progress in the building, supported by the message of the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, son of Iddo. They finished the building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus and Darius, and of Artaxerxes, king of Persia. 15 They completed this house on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. 16 The Israelites—priests, Levites, and the other returned exiles—celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 For the dedication of this house of God, they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs, together with twelve he-goats as a sin offering for all Israel, in keeping with the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 Finally, they set up the priests in their classes and the Levites in their divisions for the service of God in Jerusalem, as is prescribed in the book of Moses.
The Passover. 19 (B)The returned exiles kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. 20 The Levites, every one of whom had purified himself for the occasion, sacrificed the Passover for all the exiles, for their colleagues the priests, and for themselves. 21 The Israelites who had returned from the exile and all those who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the Gentiles in the land shared in it, seeking the Lord, the God of Israel. 22 (C)They joyfully kept the feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, for the Lord had filled them with joy by making the king of Assyria[b] favorable to them, so that he gave them help in their work on the house of God, the God of Israel.
II. The Work of Ezra
Chapter 7
Ezra, Priest and Scribe. 1 [c](D)After these events, during the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Ezra, son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, the high priest— 6 (E)this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe, well-versed in the law of Moses given by the Lord, the God of Israel. The king granted him all that he requested, because the hand of the Lord, his God, was over him.
7 Some of the Israelites and some priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. 8 Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month of that seventh year of the king. 9 On the first day of the first month he began the journey up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he arrived at Jerusalem, for the favoring hand of his God was over him. 10 (F)Ezra had set his heart on the study and practice of the law of the Lord and on teaching statutes and ordinances in Israel.
The Decree of Artaxerxes. 11 This is a copy of the rescript which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest-scribe, the scribe versed in matters concerning the Lord’s commandments and statutes for Israel:
12 (G)“Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, scribe of the law of the God of heaven, greetings! And now, 13 I have issued this decree, that anyone in my kingdom belonging to the people of Israel, its priests or Levites, who is willing to go up to Jerusalem with you, may go, 14 for you are the one sent by the king and his seven counselors to supervise Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the law of your God which is in your possession, 15 and to bring the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely contributed to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 as well as all the silver and gold which you may receive throughout the province of Babylon, together with the voluntary offerings the people and priests freely contribute for the house of their God in Jerusalem. 17 Therefore, you must use this money with all diligence to buy bulls, rams, lambs, and the grain offerings and libations proper to these, and offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem. 18 You and your kinsmen may do whatever seems best to you with the remainder of the silver and gold, as your God wills. 19 The vessels given to you for the service of the house of your God you are to deposit before the God of Jerusalem. 20 Whatever else you may be required to supply for the needs of the house of your God, you may draw from the royal treasury. 21 I, Artaxerxes the king, issue this decree to all the treasurers of West-of-Euphrates: Whatever Ezra the priest, scribe of the law of the God of heaven, requests of you, let it be done with all diligence, 22 within these limits: silver, one hundred talents; wheat, one hundred kors;[d] wine, one hundred baths; oil, one hundred baths; salt, without limit. 23 Let everything that is decreed by the God of heaven be carried out exactly for the house of the God of heaven, that wrath may not come upon the realm of the king and his sons. 24 We also inform you that it is not permitted to impose taxes, tributes, or tolls on any priest, Levite, singer, gatekeeper, temple servant, or any other servant of that house of God.
25 (H)“As for you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom of your God[e] which is in your possession, appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people in West-of-Euphrates, to all, that is, who know the laws of your God. Instruct those who do not know these laws. 26 All who will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon them with all diligence, whether death, or corporal punishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.”
Ezra Prepares for the Journey. 27 Blessed be the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who put it into the heart of the king thus to glorify the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, 28 (I)and who let me find favor with the king, with his counselors, and with all the most influential royal officials. I therefore took courage and, with the hand of the Lord, my God, over me, I gathered together Israelite leaders to make the return journey with me.
Chapter 8
Ezra’s Caravan. 1 These are the heads of the ancestral houses and the genealogies of those who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:
2 Of the descendants of Phinehas, Gershon; of the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel; of the descendants of David, Hattush, 3 son of Shecaniah; of the descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him one hundred and fifty males were enrolled; 4 of the descendants of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai, son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males; 5 of the descendants of Zattu, Shecaniah, son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males; 6 of the descendants of Adin, Ebed, son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males; 7 of the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah, son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; 8 of the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah, son of Michael, and with him eighty males; 9 of the descendants of Joab, Obadiah, son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males; 10 of the descendants of Bani, Shelomoth, son of Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males; 11 of the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah, son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males; 12 of the descendants of Azgad, Johanan, son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males; 13 of the descendants of Adonikam, younger sons, whose names were Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty males; 14 of the descendants of Bigvai, Uthai, son of Zakkur, and with him seventy males.
Final Preparations for the Journey. 15 I assembled them by the river that flows toward Ahava,[f] where we camped for three days. There I perceived that both laymen and priests were present, but I could not discover a single Levite. 16 So I sent for discerning leaders, Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, 17 with a command for Iddo, the leader in the place Casiphia, instructing them what to say to Iddo and his kinsmen, and to the temple servants in Casiphia, in order to procure for us ministers for the house of our God. 18 (J)Since the favoring hand of our God was over us, they sent to us a well-instructed man, one of the descendants of Mahli, son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and kinsmen, eighteen men. 19 They also sent us Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah, descendants of Merari, and their kinsmen and their sons, twenty men. 20 (K)Of the temple servants, those whom David and the princes appointed to serve the Levites, there were two hundred and twenty. All these were enrolled by name.
21 Then I proclaimed a fast, there by the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions. 22 (L)For I was ashamed to ask the king for troops and horsemen to protect us against enemies along the way, since we had said to the king, “The favoring hand of our God is over all who seek him, but his fierce anger is against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted, seeking this from our God, and it was granted. 24 Next I selected twelve of the priestly leaders along with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen, 25 and I weighed out before them the silver and the gold and the vessels offered for the house of our God by the king, his counselors, his officials, and all the Israelites of that region. 26 I weighed out into their hands these amounts: silver, six hundred and fifty talents; silver vessels, one hundred; gold, one hundred talents; 27 twenty golden bowls valued at a thousand darics; two vases of excellent polished bronze, as precious as gold. 28 I addressed them in these words: “You are consecrated to the Lord, and the vessels are also consecrated; the silver and the gold are a voluntary offering to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. 29 Watch over them carefully until you weigh them out in Jerusalem in the presence of the chief priests and Levites and the leaders of ancestral houses of Israel, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.” 30 The priests and the Levites then took over the silver, the gold, and the vessels that had been weighed out, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.
Arrival in Jerusalem. 31 We set out from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God remained over us, and he protected us from enemies and robbers along the way. 32 We arrived in Jerusalem, where we rested for three days. 33 On the fourth day, the silver, the gold, and the vessels were weighed out in the house of our God and given to the priest Meremoth, son of Uriah, with whom was Eleazar, son of Phinehas; they were assisted by the Levites Jozabad, son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, son of Binnui. 34 Everything was in order as to number and weight, and the total weight was registered. At that same time, 35 those who had returned from the captivity, the exiles, offered as burnt offerings to the God of Israel twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve goats as sin offerings: all these as a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 [g]Finally, the orders of the king were presented to the king’s satraps and to the governors in West-of-Euphrates, who gave their support to the people and to the house of God.
IV. Epilogue: The Resurrection Appearance in Galilee
Chapter 21
The Appearance to the Seven Disciples. 1 [a]After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way.(A) 2 Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons,[b] and two others of his disciples. 3 [c]Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.(B) 4 When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.(C) 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.”(D) 6 So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. 7 So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. 9 [d](E)When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three[e] large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.(F) 12 Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him,[f] “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish.(G) 14 [g]This was now the third time(H) Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.
Jesus and Peter.[h] 15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,[i] “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”[j] He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep.(I) 18 [k]Amen, amen, I say to you,(J) when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”(K)
The Beloved Disciple. 20 Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?”(L) 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” 22 Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come?[l] What concern is it of yours? You follow me.”(M) 23 [m]So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just “What if I want him to remain until I come? [What concern is it of yours?]”
Conclusion. 24 It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them,[n] and we know that his testimony is true.(N) 25 There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.(O)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.