Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia [that is, the first year he ruled Babylon], in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah [the prophet], the Lord stirred up (put in motion) the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:

Even these Cyrus made Mithredath, the keeper of his wealth, get out, and he gave them, after numbering them, to Sheshbazzar, the ruler of Judah.

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

After they arrived at the Lord’s house in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders gave freewill offerings for the house of God in order to have it rebuilt on its original site.

They gave after their ability to the treasure of the work sixty-one thousand darics of gold, and five thousand pounds of silver, and one hundred priests' coats.

Seven months after the Israelis had settled in their cities, they all gathered together in Jerusalem as a united body.

After [this, they presented] the daily sacrifice of burnt offerings, [the offerings] for the New Moon Festival, and for all of the appointed times consecrated for Yahweh and for all who gave a freewill offering to Yahweh.

In the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jehozadak began [their work], and the remainder of their brothers the priests and the Levites and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem. They appointed the Levites {from twenty years and older} to direct the work of the house of Yahweh.

When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of Yahweh, they set the priests in their clothing with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise Yahweh, after the order of David king of Israel.

After this, the non-Israeli inhabitants of the land undermined the people of Judah, harassing them in their construction work

Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king after this sort:

Do ye now after this commandment, forbid the same men, that the city be not builded, till I have given commandment?

Then after the copy of the epistle of Arthasatha the king being read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues, they went away to Jerusalem to the Jews, and caused them to cease by arm and strength.

Then said we unto them after this manner, These are the names of the men that make this building.

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

"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.'

So at Ecbatana, in a castle that lieth in the land of the Medes, there was found a book, and in it was there an act written after this manner:

And if they have need of calves, lambs, or goats, for the burnt offering unto the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine and oil, after the custom of the priests at Jerusalem, there shall be given them daily as is according: and see that this be done without fault,

And the Elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo: and they builded, and laid up the foundation, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and after the commandment of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.

And the children of Israel, who had come back, and all those who were joined to them, after separating themselves from the evil ways of the people of the land to become the servants of the Lord, the God of Israel, took food together,

Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

Whatever shall seem good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do that after the will of your God.

And you, Ezra, after the wisdom of your God, that is in your hand, set magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach them that know them not.

And I made them come together by the river flowing to Ahava; and we were there in tents for three days: and after viewing the people and the priests I saw that no sons of Levi were there.

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."

Guard and look after [them] until you weigh [them] before the chief priests, the Levites, and the heads of the {families} of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chamber of the house of Yahweh."

After finishing these things the officials approached me saying, "The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated from the people of the lands with their detestable things, and from the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.

And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken your commandments,

And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that you our God has punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and has given us such deliverance as this;

And when Ezra prayed after this manner, and knowledged, wept, and lay before the house of God, there resorted unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: For the people wept very sore.

The children of the captivity did so. Ezra the priest, [with] certain heads of fathers' [houses], after their fathers' houses, and all of them by their names, were set apart; and they sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.