Now, these, are the sons of the province, who came up from among the captives of the exile, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon exiled to Babylon, - who came back unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his own city;

Be it known unto the king, - that, the Jews who came up from thee unto us, are come to Jerusalem, - the rebellious and wicked city, are they building, and, the walls, have they finished, and, the foundations, will they repair.

Then, after this manner, spake we unto them, - What are the names of these men, who, this building, do rear?

Yea, their names also, asked we of them, to certify thee, - that we might write the name, of the men who are at their head.

And, thus, returned they, answer, to us saying, - We, are servants of the God of the heavens and the earth, and are building the house which was built these many years ago, which, a great king of Israel, built and completed.

Now, therefore, Tattenai pasha Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, the Apharsachites, who are Beyond the River, - be ye far from thence:

And, whatever may be the need - whether young bullocks or rams or lambs for ascending-sacrifices unto the God of the heavens, wheat, salt, wine or oil, according to the command of the priests who are in Jerusalem, - that it he given to them day by day, without fail;

And, the utensils which are freely given to thee for the service of the house of thy God, put thou back, before the God of Jerusalem.

And, from me myself, Artaxerxes the king, issueth an edict, to all the treasurers who are Beyond the River, - that, whatsoever Ezra the priest the scribe of the law of the God of the heavens shall ask of you, with diligence, shall it be done:

And, thou, Ezra, according to the wisdom of thy God that is in thy hand, appoint thou judges and magistrates, who shall administer justice to all the people that are Beyond the River, to all who know the law of thy God, - and, whoso knoweth not, ye shall teach.

Now, these, are their ancestral heads, and their genealogical register, - even of those who came up with me, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king, out of Babylon: -

For I was ashamed to ask of the king, a band of soldiers and horsemen, to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God, is upon all who seek him, for good, But, his power and his anger, are against all who forsake him.

Then said I unto them, Ye, are hallowed unto Yahweh, and, the utensils, are hallowed, - and, the silver and the gold, are a freewill offering, unto Yahweh, God of your fathers:

For, bondmen, we are, but, in our bondage, hath our God not forsaken us, - but extended unto us lovingkindness before the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up on high the house of our God, to raise up the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

which thou didst command by the hand of thy servants the prophets, saying, As for the land which, ye, are entering to possess, an impure land, it is, with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, - with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to the other, with their uncleanness.

O Yahweh, God of Israel, righteous thou art, for we have had left us a deliverance as at this day, - here we are, before thee, in our guilty deeds, for there is no standing before thee, because of this thing!

Arise, for, upon thee, resteth the thing, but, we, are with thee, - be strong, and act.

Nevertheless, the people, are many, and, the season, is that of the heavy rains, and we are not able to stand outside, - and, the business, is not one for a single day, nor yet for two, for we have abundantly transgressed, in this thing.