Then gat up the principal fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, and all they whose spirit God had raised to go up, and to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem.

And king Cyrus brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of Jerusalem and put in his god's house.

These are the children of the land that went up out of the captivity, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and in Judah, every one unto his city;

beside their servants and maidens, of whom there were seven thousand, three hundred and seven and thirty. And they had two hundred singing men and women,

Many also of the old priests and Levites and ancient fathers which had seen the first house - when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes - wept with a loud voice. And many shouted with joy,

Take heed now that ye be not negligent herein, lest the king have harm therethrough."

But after our forefathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them over into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, which brake down this house, and carried the people away unto Babylon.

"In the first year of king Cyrus, commanded the same king Cyrus to build the house of God at Jerusalem, in the place where the sacrifice is made, and to lay the foundation to bear threescore cubits height, threescore cubits breadth,

Then Tattenai the captain beyond the water, and Shetharbozenai, with their counselors to whom king Darius the king had sent did their diligence.

for the priests and Levites had purified themselves, so that they were all clean as one man, and killed Passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.

And the children of Israel which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the Heathen in the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, ate

and held the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them glad, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, so that their hands were strengthened in the work of the house of God, which is the God of Israel.

For I was ashamed to require of the king, soldiers and horsemen, to help us against the enemy in the way. For we had said unto the king, "The hand of our God is upon all them that seek him in goodness, and his violence and wrath is upon all them that forsake him."

and weighed them there the silver and gold and vessels for the heave offering unto the house of our God, which the king and his lords of his counsel and princes, and all Israel that were at hand, had given to the heave offering:

When I heard this, I rent my clothes and my raiment, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat mourning.

and said, "My God, I am ashamed, and dare not lift up mine eyes unto thee my God: for our wickednesses are grown over our head, and our trespasses are waxen great unto the heaven.

And Ezra stood up before the house of God, and went in to the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib. And when he came thither, he ate no bread, nor drank water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been in captivity.

And they caused a proclamation be made throughout Judah and Jerusalem, unto all the children which had been in captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem:

And on the first day of the first month they made an end of all the men that had taken strange wives.

And among the children of the priests there were men found that had taken strange wives, namely among the children of Jeshua the son of Jozadak and of his brethren, Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.

All these had taken strange wives; and among the same wives there were some that had born children.