Be it known to the king, that the Jews who came up from thee have come to us to Jerusalem. They are building the rebellious and the evil city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the foundations.

But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, and they did not make them cease till the matter should come to Darius, and then answer should be returned by letter concerning it.

And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great guilt, seeing that thou our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such a remnant,

And that whoever did not come within three days, according to the counsel of the rulers and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the captivity.

Let now our rulers be appointed for all the assembly, and let all those who are in our cities who have married foreign women come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce