“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.

Every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.’”

they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.”

Now in the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes), in the beginning of his reign, the Samaritans wrote [to him] an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem [who had returned from exile].

this is the copy of the letter which they sent to him:“To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men in the region beyond the River, and now

They sent a report to him in which it was written thus: “To Darius the king, all peace.

He said to him, “Take these utensils, go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem and let the house of God be rebuilt in its place.”

Now, therefore, if, unto the king, it seem good, let search be made in the treasure-house of the king which is there, in Babylon, whether it be so, that, from Cyrus the king, issued an edict, to build this house of God, in Jerusalem, - and, the pleasure of the king concerning this, let him send unto us.

Also I have given order that whosoever shall alter this rescript, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon, and let his house be made a dunghill for this.

This Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all he requested because the hand of the Lord his God was upon him.

Some of the Israelites, priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants accompanied him to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

For on the first of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, because the good hand of his God was upon him.

From me, is issued an edict, that, every one in my kingdom, of the people of Israel, and of their priests and the Levites, who is minded of his own freewill to go to Jerusalem, with thee, let him go.

And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, which is in thy hand, set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye him that knows them not.

Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him strictly, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of goods or for imprisonment.”

of the sons of Shecaniah who was of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah and with him 150 males who were in the genealogical list;

of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and 200 males with him;

of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel and 300 males with him;

and of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and 50 males with him;

and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and 70 males with him;

and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael and 80 males with him;

of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel and 218 males with him;

and of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah and 160 males with him;

and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai and 28 males with him;

and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan and 110 males with him;

From Adonikam's later descendants: Eliphelet, Jeuel, Shemaiah, and 60 men with him.

And, of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, - and, with him, seventy males.

I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, with a message for him and his brothers, the temple servants at Casiphia, that they should bring us ministers for the house of our God.

and Hashabiah, and with him Isaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;

Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.

For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.”

And we removed from the river Ahava in the twelfth to the first month, to go to Jerusalem: and the band of our God was upon us and he will deliver us from the hand of the enemy, and of him lying in wait upon the way.

On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the utensils were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui.

Now while Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very large assembly, men, women and children, gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept bitterly.