Ezra 1-5

Ezra 1

¹Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the LORD’s word by Jeremiah’s mouth might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,

²“Cyrus king of Persia says, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

³Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel (he is God), which is in Jerusalem.

⁴Whoever is left, in any place where he lives, let the men of his place help him with silver, with gold, with goods, and with animals, in addition to the free will offering for God’s house which is in Jerusalem.’”

⁵Then the heads of fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and the Levites, all whose spirit God had stirred to go up, rose up to build the LORD’s house which is in Jerusalem.

⁶All those who were around them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with animals, and with precious things, in addition to all that was willingly offered.

⁷Also Cyrus the king brought out the vessels of the LORD’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought out of Jerusalem, and had put in the house of his gods;

⁸even those, Cyrus king of Persia brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.

⁹This is the number of them: thirty platters of gold, one thousand platters of silver, twenty-nine knives,

¹⁰thirty bowls of gold, four hundred ten silver bowls of a second kind, and one thousand other vessels.

¹¹All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand four hundred. Sheshbazzar brought all these up when the captives were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Ezra 2

¹Now these are the children of the province who went up out of the captivity of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his city;

²who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:

³The children of Parosh, two thousand one hundred seventy-two.

⁴The children of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy-two.

⁵The children of Arah, seven hundred seventy-five.

⁶The children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred twelve.

⁷The children of Elam, one thousand two hundred fifty-four.

⁸The children of Zattu, nine hundred forty-five.

⁹The children of Zaccai, seven hundred sixty.

¹⁰The children of Bani, six hundred forty-two.

¹¹The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty-three.

¹²The children of Azgad, one thousand two hundred twenty-two.

¹³The children of Adonikam, six hundred sixty-six.

¹⁴The children of Bigvai, two thousand fifty-six.

¹⁵The children of Adin, four hundred fifty-four.

¹⁶The children of Ater, of Hezekiah, ninety-eight.

¹⁷The children of Bezai, three hundred twenty-three.

¹⁸The children of Jorah, one hundred twelve.

¹⁹The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty-three.

²⁰The children of Gibbar, ninety-five.

²¹The children of Bethlehem, one hundred twenty-three.

²²The men of Netophah, fifty-six.

²³The men of Anathoth, one hundred twenty-eight.

²⁴The children of Azmaveth, forty-two.

²⁵The children of Kiriath Arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred forty-three.

²⁶The children of Ramah and Geba, six hundred twenty-one.

²⁷The men of Michmas, one hundred twenty-two.

²⁸The men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred twenty-three.

²⁹The children of Nebo, fifty-two.

³⁰The children of Magbish, one hundred fifty-six.

³¹The children of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred fifty-four.

³²The children of Harim, three hundred twenty.

³³The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty-five.

³⁴The children of Jericho, three hundred forty-five.

³⁵The children of Senaah, three thousand six hundred thirty.

³⁶The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy-three.

³⁷The children of Immer, one thousand fifty-two.

³⁸The children of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred forty-seven.

³⁹The children of Harim, one thousand seventeen.

⁴⁰The Levites: the children of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the children of Hodaviah, seventy-four.

⁴¹The singers: the children of Asaph, one hundred twenty-eight.

⁴²The children of the gatekeepers: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, in all one hundred thirty-nine.

⁴³The temple servants: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth,

⁴⁴the children of Keros, the children of Siaha, the children of Padon,

⁴⁵the children of Lebanah, the children of Hagabah, the children of Akkub,

⁴⁶the children of Hagab, the children of Shamlai, the children of Hanan,

⁴⁷the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, the children of Reaiah,

⁴⁸the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam,

⁴⁹the children of Uzza, the children of Paseah, the children of Besai,

⁵⁰the children of Asnah, the children of Meunim, the children of Nephisim,

⁵¹the children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur,

⁵²the children of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha,

⁵³the children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Temah,

⁵⁴the children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha.

⁵⁵The children of Solomon’s servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Hassophereth, the children of Peruda,

⁵⁶the children of Jaalah, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel,

⁵⁷the children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth Hazzebaim, the children of Ami.

⁵⁸All the temple servants, and the children of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred ninety-two.

⁵⁹These were those who went up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they could not show their fathers’ houses and their offspring, whether they were of Israel:

⁶⁰the children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred fifty-two.

⁶¹Of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Hakkoz, and the children of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name.

⁶²These sought their place among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore they were deemed disqualified and removed from the priesthood.

⁶³The governor told them that they should not eat of the most holy things until a priest stood up to serve with Urim and with Thummim.

⁶⁴The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred sixty,

⁶⁵in addition to their male servants and their female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty-seven; and they had two hundred singing men and singing women.

⁶⁶Their horses were seven hundred thirty-six; their mules, two hundred forty-five;

⁶⁷their camels, four hundred thirty-five; their donkeys, six thousand seven hundred twenty.

⁶⁸Some of the heads of fathers’ households, when they came to the LORD’s house which is in Jerusalem, offered willingly for God’s house to set it up in its place.

⁶⁹They gave according to their ability into the treasury of the work sixty-one thousand darics of gold, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priests’ garments.

⁷⁰So the priests and the Levites, with some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants, lived in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

Ezra 3

¹When the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.

²Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak stood up with his brothers the priests and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his relatives, and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.

³In spite of their fear because of the peoples of the surrounding lands, they set the altar on its base; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening.

⁴They kept the feast of booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the ordinance, as the duty of every day required;

⁵and afterward the continual burnt offering, the offerings of the new moons, of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of everyone who willingly offered a free will offering to the LORD.

⁶From the first day of the seventh month, they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD; but the foundation of the LORD’s temple was not yet laid.

⁷They also gave money to the masons and to the carpenters. They also gave food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus King of Persia.

⁸Now in the second year of their coming to God’s house at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the LORD’s house.

⁹Then Jeshua stood with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together to have the oversight of the workmen in God’s house: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brothers the Levites.

¹⁰When the builders laid the foundation of the LORD’s temple, they set the priests in their vestments with trumpets, with the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the directions of David king of Israel.

¹¹They sang to one another in praising and giving thanks to the LORD, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel.” All the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the LORD’s house had been laid.

¹²But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice. Many also shouted aloud for joy,

¹³so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people; for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard far away.

Ezra 4

¹Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Israel,

²they came near to Zerubbabel, and to the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have been sacrificing to him since the days of Esar Haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.”

³But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves together will build to the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

⁴Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building.

⁵They hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

⁶In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

⁷In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in Syrian and delivered in the Syrian language.

⁸Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows.

⁹Then Rehum the chancellor, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the Dinaites, and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites,

¹⁰and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over and settled in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River, and so forth, wrote.

¹¹This is the copy of the letter that they sent: To King Artaxerxes, from your servants, the people beyond the River.

¹²Be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us to Jerusalem. They are building the rebellious and bad city, and have finished the walls and repaired the foundations.

¹³Be it known now to the king that if this city is built and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end it will be hurtful to the kings.

¹⁴Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not appropriate for us to see the king’s dishonor, therefore we have sent and informed the king,

¹⁵that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will see in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful to kings and provinces, and that they have started rebellions within it in the past. That is why this city was destroyed.

¹⁶We inform the king that if this city is built and the walls finished, then you will have no possession beyond the River.

¹⁷Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions who live in Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River: Peace.

¹⁸The letter which you sent to us has been plainly read before me.

¹⁹I decreed, and search has been made, and it was found that this city has made insurrection against kings in the past, and that rebellion and revolts have been made in it.

²⁰There have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem who have ruled over all the country beyond the River; and tribute, custom, and toll was paid to them.

²¹Make a decree now to cause these men to cease, and that this city not be built until a decree is made by me.

²²Be careful that you not be slack doing so. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?

²³Then when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them to cease by force of arms.

²⁴Then work stopped on God’s house which is at Jerusalem. It stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Ezra 5

¹Now the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied to them in the name of the God of Israel.

²Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build God’s house which is at Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of God, helping them.

³At the same time Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, came to them, with Shetharbozenai and their companions, and asked them, “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this wall?”

⁴They also asked for the names of the men who were making this building.

⁵But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they didn’t make them cease until the matter should come to Darius, and an answer should be returned by letter concerning it.

⁶The copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, and Shetharbozenai, and his companions the Apharsachites who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king follows.

⁷They sent a letter to him, in which was written: To Darius the king, all peace.

⁸Be it known to the king that we went into the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is being built with great stones and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on with diligence and prospers in their hands.

⁹Then we asked those elders, and said to them thus, “Who gave you a decree to build this house, and to finish this wall?”

¹⁰We asked them their names also, to inform you that we might write the names of the men who were at their head.

¹¹Thus they returned us answer, saying, “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and are building the house that was built these many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.

¹²But after our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried the people away into Babylon.

¹³But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of God.

¹⁴The gold and silver vessels of God’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, those Cyrus the king also took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor.

¹⁵He said to him, ‘Take these vessels, go, put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let God’s house be built in its place.’

¹⁶Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of God’s house which is in Jerusalem. Since that time even until now it has been being built, and yet it is not completed.

¹⁷Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, let a search be made in the king’s treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was made by Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem; and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.”