Old/New Testament
6 So King Darius issued orders that a search be made in the Babylonian archives, where documents were stored.
2 Eventually the record was found in the palace at Ecbatana, in the province of Media. This is what it said:
3 “In this first year of the reign of King Cyrus, a decree has been sent out concerning the Temple of God at Jerusalem where the Jews offer sacrifices. It is to be rebuilt, and the foundations are to be strongly laid. The height will be ninety feet and the width will be ninety feet. 4 There will be three layers of huge stones in the foundation, topped with a layer of new timber. All expenses will be paid by the king. 5 And the gold and silver bowls, which were taken from the Temple of God by Nebuchadnezzar, shall be taken back to Jerusalem and put into the Temple as they were before.”
6 So King Darius II sent this message[a] to Governor Shethar-bozenai and the other officials west of the Euphrates:
“Do not disturb the construction of the Temple. Let it be rebuilt on its former site, 7 and don’t molest the governor of Judah and the other leaders in their work. 8 Moreover, I decree that you are to pay the full construction costs without delay from my taxes collected in your territory. 9 Give the priests in Jerusalem young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven; and give them wheat, wine, salt, and olive oil each day without fail. 10 Then they will be able to offer acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for me and my sons. 11 Anyone who attempts to change this message in any way shall have the beams pulled from his house and built into a gallows on which he will be hanged;[b] and his house shall be reduced to a pile of rubble. 12 The God who has chosen the city of Jerusalem will destroy any king and any nation that alters this commandment and destroys this Temple. I, Darius, have issued this decree; let it be obeyed with all diligence.”
13 Governors Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai, and their companions complied at once with the command of King Darius.
14 So the Jewish leaders continued in their work, and they were greatly encouraged by the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah (son of Iddo).
The Temple was finally finished, as had been commanded by God and decreed by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia. 15 The completion date was February 18[c] in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius II.
16 The Temple was then dedicated with great joy by the priests, the Levites, and all the people. 17 During the dedication celebration 100 young bulls, 200 rams, and 400 lambs were sacrificed; and twelve male goats were presented as a sin offering for the twelve tribes of Israel. 18 Then the priests and Levites were divided into their various service corps to do the work of God as instructed in the laws of Moses.
19 The Passover was celebrated on the first day of April.[d] 20 For by that time many of the priests and Levites had consecrated themselves. 21-22 And some of the heathen people who had been relocated in Judah turned from their immoral customs and joined the Israelis in worshiping the Lord God. They, with the entire nation, ate the Passover feast and celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. There was great joy throughout the land because the Lord had caused the king of Assyria to be generous to Israel and to assist in the construction of the Temple.
7 1-5 Here is the genealogy of Ezra, who traveled from Babylon to Jerusalem[e] during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia:
Ezra was the son of Seriah;
Seriah was the son of Azariah;
Azariah was the son of Hilkiah;
Hilkiah was the son of Shallum;
Shallum was the son of Zadok;
Zadok was the son of Ahitub;
Ahitub was the son of Amariah;
Amariah was the son of Meraioth;
Meraioth was the son of Zerahiah;
Zerahiah was the son of Uzzi;
Uzzi was the son of Bukki;
Bukki was the son of Abishua;
Abishua was the son of Phinehas;
Phinehas was the son of Eleazar;
Eleazar was the son of Aaron, the chief priest.
6 As a Jewish religious leader, Ezra was well versed in Jehovah’s laws, which Moses had given to the people of Israel. He asked to be allowed to return to Jerusalem, and the king granted his request; for the Lord his God was blessing him. 7-9 Many ordinary people as well as priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and Temple workers traveled with him. They left Babylon in the middle of March in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes and arrived at Jerusalem in the month of August; for the Lord gave them a good trip. 10 This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the laws of the Lord and to become a Bible teacher, teaching those laws to the people of Israel.
11 King Artaxerxes presented this letter to Ezra the priest, the student of God’s commands:
12 “From: Artaxerxes, the king of kings.
“To: Ezra the priest, the teacher of the laws of the God of heaven.
13 “I decree that any Jew in my realm, including the priests and Levites, may return to Jerusalem with you. 14 I and my Council of Seven hereby instruct you to take a copy of God’s laws to Judah and Jerusalem and to send back a report of the religious progress being made there. 15 We also commission you to take with you to Jerusalem the silver and gold, which we are presenting as an offering to the God of Israel.
16 “Moreover, you are to collect voluntary Temple offerings of silver and gold from the Jews and their priests in all of the provinces of Babylon. 17 These funds are to be used primarily for the purchase of oxen, rams, lambs, grain offerings, and drink offerings, all of which will be offered upon the altar of your Temple when you arrive in Jerusalem. 18 The money that is left over may be used in whatever way you and your brothers feel is the will of your God. 19 And take with you the gold bowls and other items we are giving you for the Temple of your God at Jerusalem. 20 If you run short of money for the construction of the Temple or for any similar needs, you may requisition funds from the royal treasury.
21 “I, Artaxerxes the king, send this decree to all the treasurers in the provinces west of the Euphrates River: ‘You are to give Ezra whatever he requests of you (for he is a priest and teacher of the laws of the God of heaven), 22 up to $200,000 in silver; 1,225 bushels of wheat; 990 gallons of wine; any amount of salt; 23 and whatever else the God of heaven demands for his Temple; for why should we risk God’s wrath against the king and his sons? 24 I also decree that no priest, Levite, choir member, gatekeeper, Temple attendant, or other worker in the Temple shall be required to pay taxes of any kind.’
25 “And you, Ezra, are to use the wisdom God has given you to select and appoint judges and other officials to govern all the people west of the Euphrates River; if they are not familiar with the laws of your God, you are to teach them. 26 Anyone refusing to obey the law of your God and the law of the king shall be punished immediately by death, banishment, confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.”
27 Well, praise the Lord God of our ancestors, who made the king want to beautify the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem! 28 And praise God for demonstrating such loving-kindness to me[f] by honoring me before the king and his Council of Seven and before all of his mighty princes! I was given great status because the Lord my God was with me; and I persuaded some of the leaders of Israel to return with me to Jerusalem.
8 These are the names and genealogies of the leaders who accompanied me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:
2-14 From the clan of Phinehas—Gershom;
From the clan of Ithamar—Daniel;
From the subclan of David of the clan of Shecaniah—Hattush;
From the clan of Parosh—Zechariah, and 150 other men;
From the clan of Pahath-moab—Eliehoenai (son of Zerahiah), and 200 other men;
From the clan of Shecaniah—the son of Jahaziel, and 300 other men;
From the clan of Adin—Ebed (son of Jonathan), and 50 other men;
From the clan of Elam—Jeshaiah (son of Athaliah), and 70 other men;
From the clan of Shephatiah—Zebadiah (son of Michael), and 80 other men;
From the clan of Joab—Obadiah (son of Jehiel), and 218 other men;
From the clan of Bani—Shelomith (son of Josiphiah), and 160 other men;
From the clan of Bebai—Zechariah (son of Bebai), and 28 other men;
From the clan of Azgad—Johanan (son of Hakkatan), and 110 other men;
From the clan of Adonikam—Eliphelet, Jeuel, Shemaiah, and 60 other men (they arrived at a later time);
From the clan of Bigvai—Uthai, Zaccur, and 70 other men.
15 We assembled at the Ahava River and camped there for three days while I went over the lists of the people and the priests who had arrived; and I found that not one Levite had volunteered! 16 So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, the Levite leaders; I also sent for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were very wise men. 17 I sent them to Iddo, the leader of the Jews at Casiphia, to ask him and his brothers and the Temple attendants to send us priests for the Temple of God at Jerusalem. 18 And God was good! He sent us an outstanding man named Sherebiah, along with eighteen of his sons and brothers; he was a very astute man and a descendant of Mahli, the son of Levi and grandson of Israel. 19 God also sent Hashabiah; and Jeshaiah (the son of Merari), with twenty of his sons and brothers; 20 and 220 Temple attendants. (The Temple attendants were assistants to the Levites—a job classification of Temple employees first instituted by King David.) These 220 men were all listed by name.
21 Then I declared a fast while we were at the Ahava River so that we would humble ourselves before our God; and we prayed that he would give us a good journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and cavalry to accompany us and protect us from the enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king that our God would protect all those who worshiped him, and that disaster could come only to those who had forsaken him! 23 So we fasted and begged God to take care of us. And he did.
24 I appointed twelve leaders of the priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten other priests— 25 to be in charge of transporting the silver, gold, the gold bowls, and the other items that the king and his council and the leaders and people of Israel had presented to the Temple of God. 26-27 I weighed the money as I gave it to them and found it to total $1,300,000 in silver; $200,000 in silver utensils; many millions in gold; and twenty gold bowls worth a total of $100,000. There were also two beautiful pieces of brass that were as precious as gold. 28 I consecrated these men to the Lord and then consecrated the treasures—the equipment and money and bowls that had been given as freewill offerings to the Lord God of our fathers.
29 “Guard these treasures well!” I told them; “present them without a penny lost to the priests and the Levite leaders and the elders of Israel at Jerusalem, where they are to be placed in the treasury of the Temple.”
30 So the priests and the Levites accepted the responsibility of taking them to God’s Temple in Jerusalem. 31 We broke camp at the Ahava River at the end of March[g] and started off to Jerusalem; and God protected us and saved us from enemies and bandits along the way. 32 So at last we arrived safely at Jerusalem.
33 On the fourth day after our arrival, the silver, gold, and other valuables were weighed in the Temple by Meremoth (the son of Uriah the priest), Eleazar (son of Phinehas), Jozabad (son of Jeshua), and Noadiah (son of Binnui)—all of whom were Levites. 34 A receipt was given for each item, and the weight of the gold and silver was noted.
35 Then everyone in our party sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel—twelve oxen for the nation of Israel; ninety-six rams; seventy-seven lambs; and twelve goats as a sin offering. 36 The king’s decrees were delivered to his lieutenants and the governors of all the provinces west of the Euphrates River, and of course they then cooperated in the rebuilding of the Temple of God.
21 Later Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Lake of Galilee. This is how it happened:
2 A group of us were there—Simon Peter, Thomas, “The Twin,” Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, my brother James and I[a] and two other disciples.
3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
“We’ll come too,” we all said. We did, but caught nothing all night. 4 At dawn we saw a man standing on the beach but couldn’t see who he was.
5 He called, “Any fish, boys?”[b]
“No,” we replied.
6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get plenty of them!” So we did, and couldn’t draw in the net because of the weight of the fish, there were so many!
7 Then I[c] said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” At that, Simon Peter put on his tunic (for he was stripped to the waist) and jumped into the water and swam ashore. 8 The rest of us stayed in the boat and pulled the loaded net to the beach, about 300 feet away. 9 When we got there, we saw that a fire was kindled and fish were frying over it, and there was bread.
10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went out and dragged the net ashore. By his count there were 153 large fish; and yet the net hadn’t torn.
12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said; and none of us dared ask him if he really was the Lord, for we were quite sure of it. 13 Then Jesus went around serving us the bread and fish.
14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to us since his return from the dead.
15 After breakfast Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these others?”[d]
“Yes,” Peter replied, “you know I am your friend.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
16 Jesus repeated the question:
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I am your friend.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
17 Once more he asked him, “Simon, son of John, are you even my friend?”
Peter was grieved at the way Jesus asked the question this third time. “Lord, you know my heart;[e] you know I am,” he said.
Jesus said, “Then feed my little sheep. 18 When you were young, you were able to do as you liked and go wherever you wanted to; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and others will direct you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know what kind of death he would die to glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”
20 Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following, the one who had leaned around at supper that time to ask Jesus, “Master, which of us will betray you?” 21 Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord? What sort of death will he die?”[f]
22 Jesus replied, “If I want him to live[g]
23 So the rumor spread among the brotherhood that that disciple wouldn’t die! But that isn’t what Jesus said at all! He only said, “If I want him to live until I come, what is that to you?”
24 I am that disciple! I saw these events and have recorded them here. And we all know that my account of these things is accurate.
25 And I suppose that if all the other events in Jesus’ life were written, the whole world could hardly contain the books!
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.