These are the words of Cyrus, king of Persia: The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has made me responsible for building a house for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

All the vessels of gold and of silver are five thousand and four hundred; the whole hath Sheshbazzar brought up with the going up of the removal from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city;

These are the ones who came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. This is the number of the men of the people of the sons of Israel:

Sons of the gatekeepers; sons of Shallum, sons of Ater, sons of Talmon, sons of Akkub, sons of Hatita, sons of Shobai, the whole are a hundred thirty and nine.

All the Nethinim, and the sons of the servants of Solomon are three hundred ninety and two.

The following are those who came from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer but were unable to prove that their families and ancestry were Israelite:

these have sought their register among those reckoning themselves by genealogy, and they have not been found, and they are redeemed from the priesthood,

apart from their servants and their handmaids; these are seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and of them are singers and songstresses two hundred.

Their horses are seven hundred thirty and six, their mules, two hundred forty and five,

And the seventh month cometh, and the sons of Israel are in the cities, and the people are gathered, as one men, unto Jerusalem.

and after this a continual burnt-offering, and for new moons, and for all appointed seasons of Jehovah that are sanctified; and for every one who is willingly offering a willing-offering to Jehovah.

And many of the priests, and the Levites, and the heads of the fathers, the aged men who had seen the first house -- in this house being founded before their eyes -- are weeping with a loud voice, and many with a shout, in joy, lifting up the voice;

and the people are not discerning the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people are shouting -- a great shout -- and the noise hath been heard unto a distance.

And adversaries of Judah and Benjamin hear that the sons of the captivity are building a temple to Jehovah, God of Israel,

and they draw nigh unto Zerubbabel, and unto heads of the fathers, and say to them, 'Let us build with you; for, like you, we seek to your God, and we are not sacrificing since the days of Esar-Haddon king of Asshur, who brought us up hither.'

And it cometh to pass, the people of the land are making the hands of the people of Judah feeble, and troubling them in building,

and are hiring against them counsellors to make void their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even till the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Then Rehum counsellor, and Shimshai scribe, and the rest of their companions, Dinaites, and Apharsathchites, Tarpelites, Apharsites, Archevites, Babylonians, Susanchites, (who are Elamites),

And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over, and settled in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the river, and so forth .

And this is the sum of the letter that they sent: "Unto king Artaxerxes: Thy servants, the men that are now on this side the water.

Be it known unto the king, that the Jews who came up from you to us have come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and wicked city, and are finishing its walls, and repairing the foundations.

Now be it known to the king that if this city is built and the walls are finished, they will not pay tribute and toll, and the royal revenue will be reduced.

In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king, and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage, we are sending the king this information

so that he doth seek in the book of the records of thy fathers, and thou dost find in the book of the records, and dost know, that this city is a rebellious city, and causing loss to kings and provinces, and makers of sedition are in its midst from the days of old, therefore hath this city been wasted.

We make known to the king that if this city is built and the walls are finished, you will have nothing in [the province] Beyond the River."

An answer hath the king sent unto Rehum counsellor, and Shimshai scribe, and the rest of their companions who are dwelling in Samaria, and the rest beyond the river, 'Peace, and at such a time:

Give an order now, that these men are to do nothing more, and that the building of the town is to be stopped, till I give an order.

And prophesied have the prophets, (Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah son of Iddo) unto the Jews who are in Judah and in Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel -- unto them.

Then have Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jozadak, risen, and begun to build the house of God, that is in Jerusalem, and with them are the prophets of God supporting them.

At that time come to them hath Tatnai, governor beyond the river, and Shethar-Boznai, and their companions, and thus they are saying to them, 'Who hath made for you a decree this house to build, and this wall to finish?'

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

The copy of a letter that Tatnai, governor beyond the river, hath sent, and Shethar-Boznai and his companions, the Apharsachites who are beyond the river, unto Darius the king.

Let it be known to the king that we went to the house of the great God in the province of Judah. It is being built with cut stones, and its beams are being set in the walls. This work is being done diligently and succeeding through the people’s efforts.

We also asked their names in order to notify you so that we might write the names of the men who are the chief of them.

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

In the first year of King Cyrus, he issued forth a decree concerning the house of God in Jerusalem. Let the house be built, the place where sacrifices are offered and let its foundations be raised. Its height [shall be] sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits,

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.

The gold and silver articles of God’s house that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon must also be returned. They are to be brought to the temple in Jerusalem where they belong and put into the house of God.

Now therefore, Tattenai, governor beyond the river, Shethar-bozenai, and your companions the governors, who are beyond the river, keep yourselves far from there:

"I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work.

And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the requirement of the priests who are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail:

And may the God who has made it a resting-place for his name send destruction on all kings and peoples whose hands are outstretched to make any change in this or to do damage to this house of God at Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given this order, let it be done with all care.

and the elders of the Jews are building and prospering through the prophecy of Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah son of Iddo, and they have built and finished by the decree of the God of Israel, and by the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

for the priests and the Levites have been purified together -- all of them are pure -- and they slaughter the passover for all the sons of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.

I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, who are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you.

For as you are sent by the king, and by his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your hand;

You are also to bring the silver and gold the king and his counselors have willingly given to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,

Then you are to buy with this money as many bulls, rams, and lambs as needed, along with their grain and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem.

The articles also that are given you for the service of the house of your God, those you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem.

And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done promptly,

'And to you we are making known, that upon any of the priests and Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, and servants of the house of God, tribute and custom there is no authority to lift up.

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.

These are now the heads of their fathers' houses, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king.

From the sons of Pahath-Moab: Elihoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred who are males.

From the sons of Shechaniah: the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred who are males.

And from the sons of Adin: Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him fifty who are males.

And from the sons of Elam: Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him seventy who are males.

And from the sons of Shephatiah: Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him eighty who are males.

From the sons of Joab: Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen who are males.

And from the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and sixty who are males.

And from the sons of Bebai: Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight who are males.

And from the sons of Azgad: Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten who are males.

And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore men.

And from the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy who are males.

For I was ashamed to ask the king for troops and horses to protect us from enemies on the way because we said to the king, "the hand of our God is favorable to all who seek him, but his strength and anger are against all who forsake them."

And I said unto them, You are holy unto the LORD; the articles are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers.

After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said: “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.

and unto me are gathered every one trembling at the words of the God of Israel, because of the trespass of the removal, and I am sitting astonished till the present of the evening.

And I said:

My God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face toward You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads and our guilt is as high as the heavens.

From the days of our fathers we are in great guilt unto this day, and in our iniquities we have been given -- we, our kings, our priests -- into the hand of the kings of the lands, with sword, with captivity, and with spoiling, and with shame of face, as at this day.

But now is there a little and sudden graciousness come from the LORD our God, so that some of us are escaped: that he may give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may light our eyes, and give us a little life in our bondage.

For we are slaves and in our bondage our God did not forsake us, and he has extended to us loyal love in the presence of the kings of Persia, to give to us deliverance [and] to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem.

"And now what are we able to say after this, our God? For we have forsaken your commandments

which you commanded by the hand of your servants the prophets saying, 'The land that you are entering to possess is a land of impurity with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their detestable things which they have filled from end to end with their uncleanness.

"The land you are entering to possess is a morally unclean land due to the moral uncleanness of the nations of the lands along with their abominations that has filled it from one end to the other with their impurities. So, therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor marry their daughters to your sons, and under no circumstances are you to seek their well-being or their wealth, so that you may remain strong, enjoying the best things the land has to give, and so that you may establish an inheritance for your children forever.'

And after everything which has come on us because of our evil-doing and our great sin, and seeing that the punishment which you, O God, have given us, is less than the measure of our sins, and that you have kept from death those of us who are here;

Are we again to go against your orders, taking wives from among the people who do these disgusting things? would you not be angry with us till our destruction was complete, till there was not one who got away safe?

O LORD God of Israel, you are righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before you in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before you because of this.

Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

Arise, for it is your task and we are with you. Be strong and do it."

And gathered are all the men of Judah and Benjamin to Jerusalem by the third day, it is the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sit in the broad place of the house of God, trembling on account of the matter and of the showers.

But the people are many, and it is a time of heavy rain, and we are not able to stand outside, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.

Please let our leaders stand for the whole assembly, and let all that are in our cities who have married foreign women come at set times, and with them the elders of and judges of each city, until the fierce wrath of our God because of this matter is averted from us."

And the sons of the removal do so, and Ezra the priest, and men, heads of the fathers, for the house of their fathers, are separated, even all of them by name, and they sit on the first day of the tenth month, to examine the matter;

And there are found of the sons of the priests that have settled strange women: of the sons of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and his brethren, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah;

all these have taken strange women, and there are of them women -- who adopt sons.