Now after these things, when Artaxerxes was king of Persia, Ezra, the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, The son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, read more. The son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, The son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, The son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest:

Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, scribe of the law of the God of heaven, all peace; It is my order that all the people of Israel, including their priests and Levites in my kingdom, who are ready and have a desire to go to Jerusalem, are to go with you. read more. The king and his seven wise men send you to get knowledge about Judah and Jerusalem. The Law of your God orders you. You are to take with you the silver and gold freely offered by the king and his wise men to the God of Israel, who's Temple is in Jerusalem, As well as all the silver and gold which you get from the land of Babylon, together with the offering of the people and of the priests, freely given for the house of their God in Jerusalem. Use this money to buy bulls, sheep, and lambs, with their meal offerings and their drink offerings, to be offered on the altar of the house of your God, which is in Jerusalem. Whatever seems right to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, that do, as may be pleasing to your God. The vessels that have been given to you for the uses of the house of your God, you are to give to the God of Jerusalem. Whatever is needed for the house of your God, and which you may have to give, take it from the king's storehouse. And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, now give orders to all keepers of the king's money across the river, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may have need of from you, is to be done with all care, Up to a hundred talents of silver, a hundred measures of grain, a hundred measures of wine, and a hundred measures of oil, and salt without measure. Whatever the God of heaven orders let it be done completely for the house of the God of heaven. Let there not be wrath against the kingdom of the king and his sons. In addition, we make it clear to you, that it will be against the law to put any tax or payment in goods or forced payment on any of the priests or Levites, the music-makers, doorkeepers, Nethinim, or any servants of this house of God. And you, Ezra, by the wisdom of your God which is in you, are to put rulers and judges to have authority over all the people across the river who have knowledge of the laws of your God. You are to teach any who have no knowledge of them. If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, take care that punishment is given to him. This is by death or by driving him from his country or by taking away his goods or by putting him in prison.

These are the heads of families who were listed of those who went up with me from Babylon, when Artaxerxes was king. Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush; read more. Of the sons of Shecaniah; of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah; and with him were listed a hundred and fifty males. Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai, the son of Zerahiah; and with him two hundred males. Of the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel; and with him three hundred males. And of the sons of Adin, Ebed, the son of Jonathan; and with him fifty males. And of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah; the son of Athaliah; and with him seventy males. And of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah, the son of Michael; and with him eighty males. Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah, the son of Jehiel; and with him two hundred and eighteen males. And of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah; and with him a hundred and sixty males. And of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai; and with him twenty-eight males. And of the sons of Azgad, Johanan, the son of Hakkatan; and with him a hundred and ten males. And of the sons of Adonikam, the last, whose names were Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah; and with them sixty males. And of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud; and with them seventy males.

They have taken their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons. They have mingled the holy race with peoples around them. In fact the leaders and officials were first to do this evil.

The second day the heads of families of all the people and the priests and the Levites came together to Ezra the scribe, to give attention to the words of the law. They saw that it was recorded in the law that Jehovah gave orders by Moses, that the children of Israel were to have tents for their living-places in the feast of the seventh month: read more. They were to give an order, and make it public in all their towns and in Jerusalem, saying: Go out to the mountain and get olive branches and branches of field olives (oil trees) and of myrtle, and palm branches and branches of thick trees, to make tents, as it says in the book. The people went out and got them and made themselves tents. Every one on the roof of his house, and in the open spaces and in the open squares of the House of God, and in the wide place of the Water Gate, and the wide place of the Gate of Ephraim. All the people who had been prisoners and had come back, made tents and were living in them. From the time of Jeshua, the son of Nun, till that day, the children of Israel had not done so. There was very great joy! Day by day, from the first day till the last, he read from the book of the Law of God. They kept the feast for seven days: and on the eighth day there was a holy meeting, as it is ordered in the law.

These are the priests and the Levites who went up with Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

Of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;

And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,