Who among you from all his people? His God shall be with him, and he shall go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and he shall build the house of Jehovah God of Israel, (he is the God) Which is in Jerusalem.

And Cyrus king of Persia will bring them forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and he will number them to Sheshbazzar, prince to Judah.

From the sons of the priests: the sons of Habiah, the sons of Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and he will be called by their name.

These sought their writing of those being enrolled, and they found not: and they will be polluted from the priesthood.

And the people of the land will be slackening the hands of the people of Judah, and terrifying them in building,

To be known to the king that the Jews who went up from with thee to us, came to Jerusalem, building the perverse and bad city, and they completed its wall, and they will repair its foundations.

Now to be known to the king that if this city shall be built and the walls be completed, tribute, excise, and toll, they will not give, and in the end it will endamage the kings.

That it shall be sought in the book of the records of thy fathers: and thou wilt find in the book of the records, and thou wilt know that this city a city perverse and endamaging kings and provinces, and working rebellion in the midst of it from days forever: for this, this city was laid waste.

We making known to the king that if this city shall be built, and its walls be completed, for this cause a portion beyond the river shall not be to thee.

Now set up a decree to cause these men to cease, and this city shall not be built till a decree shall be set up from me.

And be ye warned from doing wrong upon this: wherefore shall harm overtake to endamage the kings?

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.

To be known to the king that we went to the Judah province, to the house of the great God; and it was building with stone of rolling, and wood being set up in the walls; and this work being diligently done, and prospering in their hands.

Therefore after our fathers provoked to the God of the heavens to be angry, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel, the Chaldean, and he destroyed this house, and the people he carried away in exile to Babel.

And he said to him, Lift up these vessels, go bring them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and the house of God shall be built upon its place.

And now if good to the king he shall seek in the house of the king's treasure there that is in Babel, if it be that from Cyrus the king a decree was set up to build this house of God in Jerusalem, and the king will send the will to us concerning this.

In one year to Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king set a decree of the house of God in Jerusalem, The house shall be built, the place that they sacrificed sacrifices, and its foundations being erected; its height sixty cubits, and its breadth sixty cubits;

And three layers of stone of inagnitude: and a layer of new wood: and the outgoing shall be given from the king's house:

And also the vessels of the house of God of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar brought forth from the temple that is in Jerusalem, and brought to Babel, shall be restored, and shall go to the temple that is in Jerusalem, to its place, and be taken into the house of God.

Now Tatnai prefect beyond the river, Shethar-Bozni, and their colleagues the Apharsachites that are beyond the river, be ye far off from thence:

And from me a decree was set up for that which ye shall do with the old men of these Jews for building this house of God: and the king's riches, that of the tribute beyond the river, expenses shall be speedily given to these men, not to be made to cease.

And whatever being necessary, and the young of cattle and rams and lambs, for burnt-offerings to the God of the heavens, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the saying of the priests that are in Jerusalem, to be given to them day by day, not resting:

And from me a decree was set up that every man that shall change this word, wood shall be pulled down from his house, and being raised up he shall be fastened upon it; and his house shall be made a dung-hill for this.

And God who shall cause his name to dwell there shall cast down every king and people that shall send forth his hand to change, to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I Darius set up a decree; it shall be done speedily.

For the cause that being sent from before the king and the seven counselors to seek concerning Judah and for Jerusalem, by the law of thy God that is in thy hand;

For this cause speedily shalt thou buy with this silver, oxen, rams, lambs, with their gifts and their libations, and thou shalt bring them near upon the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem.

And whatever to thee and to thy brethren shall be good to do with the rest of the silver and gold; according to the will of your God ye shall do.

And from me, I Arthasatha the king, a decree was set up to all the treasurers that are beyond the river, that all which Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of the heavens, shall ask of you, shall be done speedily'

All that from the decree of the God of the heavens shall be done diligently for the house of the God of the heavens: for why to be wrath upon the kingdom of the king and his sons?

And making known to you that all the priests and Levites, the players, the porters, the Nethinims, and those serving this house of God, tribute, excise and toll, not being permitted to be lifted up upon them.

And thou Ezra, according to the wisdom of thy God that is in thy hand, appoint judges and tribunals to be judging for all the people that are beyond the river, to all knowing the laws of thy God; and those not knowing ye shall cause to know.

And all not to be doing the laws of thy God, and the laws of the king, judgment to be done speedily upon him, if whether to death or to rooting him out, or to impose fines and for bonds.

Praised be Jehovah the God of our fathers who gave according to this in the king's heart, to adorn the house of Jehovah which is in Jerusalem:

And from the Nethinims David gave, and the chiefs, for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were specified by names.

And we will fast and seek of our God concerning this; and he will be entreated for us.

And in the fourth day we shall weigh the silver and the gold and the vessels in the house of our God, by the hand of Meremoth son of Uriah the priest; and with him Eleazar son of Phinehas; and with them Jozabad son of Joshua, and Noadiah son of Levites;

In number, in weight to all: and all the weight shall be written in that time.

Which thou didst command by the hand of thy servants the prophets, saying, The land which ye are coming in to inherit it being a land of uncleanness in the uncleanness of the people of the lands in their abominations which filled it from mouth to mouth in their pollution.

And now ye shall not give your daughters to their sons, and ye shall not take their daughters to your sons, and ye shall not seek their peace and their good even forever, so that ye shall be strong and eat the good of the land, and cause to your sons to inherit even forever.

Shall we turn back to break thy commands and to contract marriage with the people of these abonminations? Wilt thou not be angry with us even to finishing, for not a remaining and escaping.

And now we will cut out a covenant to our God to bring forth all the wives, and those being born of them upon the counsel of my lord, and of those trembling at the command of our God; and according to the law it shall be done.

Arise; for to thee the word, and we with thee: be strong and do.

And every one who shall not come in three days according to the counsel of the chiefs and the old men, all his substance shall be devoted, and he shall be separated from the convocation of the exile.

And thus the sons of the exile will do. And they will be separated, Ezra the priest, men, heads of the fathers, for the house of their fathers, and all of them by names, and they will it down in one day to the tenth month to seek out the word.

And there will be found from the sons of the priest who dwelt with strange wives: from the sons of Joshua son of Josedek and his brethren: Maaseiah and Eleazar, and Jarib and Gedaliah.

All these took strange wives: and there is from them wives, and sons will be produced.