Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth has Jehovah the God of the heavens given to me, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Whosoever there is among you of all his people, his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah the God of Israel he is God which is at Jerusalem.

And whosoever remains in any place where he sojourns, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the voluntary offering for the house of God which is at Jerusalem.

and they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief fathers, and said to them, We would build with you; for we seek your God, as ye; and we have sacrificed to him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up hither.

This is the copy of the letter that they sent to him: To Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men on this side the river, and so forth.

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

And he said to him, Take these vessels, go, carry them into the temple that is at Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in its place.

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 ready scribe in the law of Moses, which Jehovah the God of Israel had given. And the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of Jehovah his God upon him.

For upon the first of the first month the project of going up from Babylon was determined on, and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.

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.

And whosoever will not do the law of thy God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed diligently upon him, whether unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.

of the children of Shecaniah, of the children of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were registered by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty.

Of the children of Pahath-Moab, Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males.

Of the children of Shechaniah, the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males.

And of the children of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males.

And of the children of Elam, Isaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males.

And of the children of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males.

Of the children of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males.

And of the children of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and sixty males.

And of the children of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males.

And of the children of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten males.

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

And I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way; for we had spoken to the king saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his anger is against all them that forsake him.

And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Urijah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites:

And while Ezra prayed, and made confession, weeping and falling down before the house of God, there were gathered to him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children; for the people wept very much.