During the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in fulfillment of the message from the LORD spoken through Jeremiah, the LORD prompted Cyrus, king of Persia, to make this proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, which was also released in written form:

All of the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by the LORD God of Heaven, and he specifically charged me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Therefore, who among the LORD's people trusts in his God? Whoever among this group wishes to do so may travel to Jerusalem of Judah to rebuild the Temple of the LORD God of Israel, the God of Jerusalem.

Furthermore, everyone who wishes to repatriate from any territory where he now resides is to receive assistance from his fellow residents in the form of silver, gold, equipment, and pack animals, in addition to voluntary offerings for the Temple of the God of Jerusalem.

In response, the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and descendants of Levi, and all those who had been prompted by God, prepared to travel to rebuild the Temple of the LORD, which was in Jerusalem.

So all of their neighbors equipped the travelers with silver, gold, equipment, pack animals, and valuable goods, in addition to voluntary offerings.

Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought out to Mithredath the Treasurer, had them inventoried, and had them placed in care of Sheshbazzar, governor of Judah.

The complete inventory of gold and silver vessels totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought them all to Jerusalem, along with the exiles from Babylon.

Here is a list of descendants of the province of Judah who returned from the captivity, from those who had been exiled. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had taken them to Babylon. They came back to Jerusalem and Judah, each one to his town,

These people searched for their ancestral registrations but they couldn't be located. Accordingly, they were assigned an "unclean" status and couldn't be priests.

Governor Zerubbabel also ruled that they shouldn't eat anything holy until a priest arose with Urim and Thummim.

They contributed to the treasury for this work in accordance with their ability: 61,000 golden drachma, 5,000 units of silver, and 100 priestly robes.

As a result, the priests, descendants of Levi, certain people, the singers, door-keepers, and the Temple Servants were able to settle in their original cities, with the rest of the Israelis in their cities.

Then Jozadak's son Jeshua and his brothers got up, along with Shealtiel's son Zerubbabel and his brothers. They built an altar of the God of Israel in order to offer burnt offerings, as prescribed by the Law of Moses, the man of God.

Even though they feared the people in neighboring regions, they rebuilt the altar where it had stood before. They offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD burnt offerings both in the morning and in the evening.

They also observed the Festival of Tents as has been prescribed, offering a specific number of daily burnt offerings in accordance with the ordinance of each day.

After that, they offered all of the continual burnt offerings and the New Moon sacrifices for all of the designated festivals of the LORD that were being consecrated, along with all the voluntary offerings that were dedicated to the LORD.

They began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD from the first day of the seventh month, even though the foundation of the Temple of the LORD had not yet been laid.

They paid masons and carpenters in cash. They paid the residents of Sidon and Tyre with food, drink, and oil, for them to bring cedar trees by sea from Lebanon to Joppa in accordance with the order they had obtained from Cyrus, king of Persia.

Two years and two months after arriving at the site of the Temple of God in Jerusalem, Shealtiel's son Zerubbabel, Jozadak's son Jeshua, the relatives of the priests and descendants of Levi, and everyone else who had left the Babylonian captivity for Jerusalem appointed descendants of Levi who were 20 years old and older to oversee the work of the LORD's Temple.

After the builders laid the foundation for the LORD's Temple, the priests stood in their ministerial robes with trumpets and the descendants of Levi (who were also descendants of Asaph) with cymbals to praise the LORD, according to instructions prepared by David, king of Israel.

And they sang in unison to one another, giving thanks to the LORD: "He is good, and his gracious love to Israel endures forever." And all the people shouted out loudly in praise to the LORD when the foundation of the LORD's Temple was laid.

As a result, the people couldn't distinguish between the noise coming from the shouts of joy and the noise coming from the weeping people, because everyone was shouting loudly and could be heard a long way off.

When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin learned that the descendants of the Babylonian captivity had built their Temple to the LORD, the God of Israel,

they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the families with this message: "Let's build along with you, because, like you, we seek your God, as do you, and we've been making sacrifices to him since the reign of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who brought us here."

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel replied, "You have no part in our plans for building a temple to our God, because we alone will build to the LORD, the God of Israel, in accordance with the decree issued by King Cyrus, king of Persia."

by bribing their consultants in order to frustrate their plans throughout the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia until Darius became king.

While Artaxerxes was king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their co-conspirators wrote in the Aramaic language and script to King Artaxerxes of Persia. Aramaic:

Governor Rehum and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter concerning Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:

This is the text of the letter they sent. To: King Artaxerxes From: Your servants, the men of the province beyond the Euphrates River.

May the king be advised that the Jews who came from you to us have reached Jerusalem and are rebuilding a rebellious and wicked city, having completed its walls and repaired its foundations.

May the king be further advised that if this city is rebuilt and its walls erected, its citizens will refuse to pay tributes, taxes, and tariffs, thereby restricting royal revenues.

Now, because we are royal employees and are committed to preserving the reputation of the king, we have written to the king and have declared its contents to be true,

urging that a search may be made in the official registers of your predecessors. You will discover in the registers that this city is a rebellious city, that it is damaging to both kings and provinces, that it has been moved to sedition from time immemorial, and that because of this it was destroyed.

We certify to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls completed, you will lose your land holdings in the province beyond the Euphrates River.

The king replied: To: Governor Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues living in Samaria, and the remainder living beyond the Euphrates River. Greetings:

The memorandum you sent to us has been read and carefully considered.

Pursuant to my edict, an investigation has been undertaken. It is noted that this city has fomented rebellion against kings from time immemorial, and that rebellion and sedition has occurred in it.

Powerful kings have reigned over Jerusalem, including ruling over all lands beyond the Euphrates River. Furthermore, taxes, tribute, and tolls have been paid to them.

Accordingly, issue an order to force these men to cease their work so that this city is not rebuilt until you receive further notice from me.

Be diligent and take precautions so that you do not neglect your responsibility in this matter. Why should the kingdom sustain any more damage?

As soon as a copy of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum, to Shimshai the scribe, and to their colleagues, they traveled quickly to Jerusalem and compelled the Jews to cease by force of arms.

At that time, the prophets Haggai and Iddo's son Zechariah prophesied specifically to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel.

Right about then, Trans-Euphrates Governor Tattenai, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues approached and challenged them. They asked, "Who authorized you to build this Temple and to reconstruct this wall?"

But God watched over the Jewish leaders, who could not be forced to stop working until Darius received a report and responded in reply.

Here is a copy of the letter that Trans-Euphrates Governor Tattenai, Shethar-bozenai, and his colleagues the Trans-Euphrates Persians sent to King Darius.

The letter sent to him was written like this: To: King Darius: Greetings!

This is to inform the king that we traveled to the Temple of the great God in the Judean province, which is being built with large stones and reinforced with wooden beams in its walls. The work proceeds diligently and is in capable hands.

We asked the elders, "Who authorized you to build this Temple and to reinforce these walls?"

We also asked them their names so that we could certify the identities of their leaders to you.

But because our predecessors provoked the God of Heaven to become angry, he handed them over to the control of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean who destroyed this Temple and transported the people to Babylon.

"However, during King Cyrus' first year that same King Cyrus of Babylon issued a decree to reconstruct this Temple of God.

"And Cyrus told him, "Take these utensils, go to Jerusalem, and carry them to the Temple, after the Temple of God has been built in its appropriate place.'

Accordingly, with your approval we suggest that a search be conducted within the king's treasury at Babylon to verify whether or not King Cyrus ever issued such a decree to reconstruct this Temple of God in Jerusalem. Then please notify us concerning the king's pleasure in this matter.

Then King Darius issued an order to search the Hall of Records where the Babylonian archives were stored.

Let the Temple be rebuilt where they offered sacrifices. Let the foundations thereof be laid with a height of 60 cubits and a width of 60 cubits, constructed with three layers of foundation stone interlaced with a row of new timber, the expenses for which are to be paid from the king's treasury.

Furthermore, let the gold and silver utensils from the Temple of God (that Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple in Jerusalem and carried off to Babylon) be brought back to the Temple at Jerusalem and restored to their respective places in the Temple of God.

To: Tattenai, Trans-Euphrates Governor, Shethar-bozenai, and your colleagues living beyond the Euphrates River. Stay away from there!

Furthermore, I hereby decree what you are to do for the Jewish leaders who are building this Temple of God: you are to pay the expenses of these men out of the king's assets from taxes collected beyond the River so that they are not hindered.

And be sure that you don't fail to provide their daily needs including young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of Heaven, along with wheat, salt, wine, and oil, as the priests in Jerusalem tell you

I hereby also decree that whoever shall alter the wording of this edict, let his residence be torn down for timber to build a gallows, hang him on it, and turn his home into an outhouse.

And may the God who causes his Name to rest there destroy any king or people who might attempt to destroy this Temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be carried out quickly.

The Temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar during the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

At the dedication offering of the Temple of God, they presented 100 bulls, 200 rams, and 400 lambs, along with a sin offering of twelve male goats for the entire nation of Israel according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

The former exiles observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month

So the Israelis who had returned from captivity ate the Passover with all who had consecrated themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land in order to seek the LORD God of Israel.

On the first day of the first month he left Babylon and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, since the beneficent hand of his God was upon him.

For Ezra had set his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, to obey it, and to teach God's statutes and judgments in Israel.

Here is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra, the priest-scribe, a scholar in matters concerning the commandments of the LORD and concerning his statutes pertaining to Israel:

From: Artaxerxes, King of Kings To: Ezra, the Priest, a scholar in matters concerning the laws of the God of Heaven Greetings!

I hereby decree that all of the people of Israel along with their priests and descendants of Levi in my kingdom who are determined to return to Jerusalem with you may do so.

You have authority to act for the king and for his Council of Seven to conduct an inquiry concerning Judah and Jerusalem in accordance with the Law of your God, which is in your possession.

You are carrying silver and gold that the king and his advisors have freely given to the God of Israel, whose Temple is in Jerusalem,

Accordingly, you are to exercise due diligence to utilize this money to purchase bulls, rams, lambs, grain offerings, and drink offerings, and to offer them upon the altar of the Temple of your God, which is in Jerusalem.

Furthermore, you are to deliver to the God of Jerusalem the vessels for the service of the Temple of your God that have been given to you.

I, Artaxerxes, in my capacity as king, hereby decree to all royal treasuries beyond the Euphrates River that whatever Ezra the priest-scribe of the Law of the God of Heaven, may require of you are to be performed with all due diligence,

up to 100 silver talents, 100 measures of wheat, 100 measures of wine, 100 measures of oil, and salt without limitation.

Whatever is commanded by the God of Heaven is to be done with all due diligence for the Temple of the God of Heaven, or wrath will come against the king's realm and his sons.

Furthermore, we decree that with respect to any of the priests, descendants of Levi, singers, gatekeepers, Temple Servants, or other servants of this Temple of God, it is not to be lawful to impose any tribute, tax, or toll on them.

And you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom given to you by your God, are to appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people beyond the Euphrates River. All of them are to know the laws of your God, and you are to instruct those who do not know them.

Whoever refuses to practice the law of your God and the law of the king is to see judgment executed quickly, whether to death, banishment, confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.

Blessed be the LORD God of our ancestors, who placed this decree into the king's heart to beautify the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem

and who showed gracious love to me before the king, before his advisors, and before all of the king's mighty officials. And I was strengthened because the hand of the LORD my God was upon me. So I gathered together the leaders of Israel to go with me.

I told them to go see Iddo, a leader of Casiphia, and tell him and his relatives (administrators of Casiphia) to bring us men who could serve in the Temple of our God.

220 descendants of the Temple Servants whom David and the leaders had appointed to serve the descendants of Levi, listed by name.

Then I called for a fast there at the Ahava River so we could humble ourselves before our God and seek from him an appropriate way for us and our little ones to live, and how we should guard our personal wealth,

because I was ashamed to ask the king for a contingent of soldiers and cavalry to protect us from enemies we might encounter on the way. After all, we had told the king, "The hand of our God seeks the good of all who seek him, but his power and anger are against everyone who forsakes him."

So we fasted and asked our God about this, and he listened to us.

20 gold basins weighing 1,000 darics each, and two vessels made of polished brass, as valuable as gold.

I told them, "You are consecrated to the LORD, and the vessels are also consecrated. The silver and the gold are a freely given offering to the LORD God of your ancestors.

Guard and protect them until you disperse them to the chief priests, the descendants of Levi, and to the family leaders of Israel at Jerusalem in the chambers of the Temple of the LORD."

So the priests and descendants of Levi took possession of the silver, the gold, and the vessels in order to bring them to Jerusalem, to the Temple of our God.

Then we left the Ahava River for Jerusalem on the twelfth day of the first month. Our God's protection was with us, and he delivered us from the enemy's power and from ambush along the way.

On the fourth day the silver, the gold, and the vessels were distributed at the Temple of our God into the care of Uriah's son Meremoth the priest, Phinehas' son Eleazar, Jeshua's son Jozabad, and Binnui's son Noadiah, the descendants of Levi.

Distribution was according to inventory and weight, with all weights being recorded at that time.

The descendants of those who had been taken into captivity and who had returned from captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all of Israel, 96 rams, 77 lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering all of them burnt offerings to the LORD.

Then they delivered copies of the king's orders to the king's officers, and governors on this side of the Euphrates River. The orders were in support of the people and God's Temple.

At the time of the evening sacrifice, I arose from my discouragement. Still in my torn garment and robe, I fell to my knees with my hands outstretched to the LORD my God,

"My God, I am too ashamed and hurt to turn to you, because we're in our iniquities over our heads. Furthermore, my God, our sins have grown as high as the heavens. We have lived in great sin from the days of our ancestors even until today, and because of those iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered over to foreign kings, for execution, for captivity, for plunder, and for humiliation, as is the case today.

Though now, for a moment, grace has been shown from the LORD our God, leaving a few survivors to escape, and providing us a secure hold in his Holy Place, so that our God might enlighten us and give us relief from our servitude.

Even though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. Instead, he has extended gracious love to us in the presence of the kings of Persia, to grant us revival, to set up the Temple of our God, to repair its damage, and to give us a protective wall for Judah and Jerusalem.