Who is there among you of all His people? Let his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah, the God of Israel (He is God) which is in Jerusalem.

And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things until there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim.

There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all Beyond the River. And toll, taxes, and custom was paid to them.

And therefore, if it seems good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house there at Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was given from Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem. And let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.

And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that was in the province of the Medes, a scroll. And in it was a record written thus:

And Tatnai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-boznai, and your companions, the officials Beyond the River, keep away from there.

And may the God who has caused His name to dwell there destroy all kings and people who shall put their hand to alter or to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I, Darius, have made a decree. Let it be done with speed.

And there went up some of the sons of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the temple slaves, to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

Whatever is commanded by the God of Heaven, let it be carefully done for the house of the God of Heaven, for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

And I gathered them to the river which runs to Ahava. And we stayed there in tents three days. And I looked over the people and the priests, and did not find there any of the sons of Levi.

Then I called a fast there at the river Ahava, so that we might humble ourselves before our God, in order to seek from Him a right way for us and for our little ones, and for all our goods.

And I weighed to them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, the offering of the house of our God, which the king and his counselors and his lords, and all Israel who were there, had offered.

And we came to Jerusalem and stayed there three days.

should we again break Your commandments and join hands with the people of these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had crushed us, until there is no remnant nor survivor?

And when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there gathered to him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children, for the people wept with a great weeping.

And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have sinned against our God and have taken strange women from the people of the land. Yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God and went into the room of Johanan the son of Eliashib. And he went there, and he ate no bread nor drank water. For he mourned because of the sin of those who had been exiled.