This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build Him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.

Whoever is among His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem.

they approached Zerubbabel and the leaders of the families and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we also worship your God and have been sacrificing to Him since the time King Esar-haddon of Assyria brought us here.”

This is the text of the letter they sent to him:

To King Artaxerxes from your servants, the men from the region west of the Euphrates River:

They sent him a report, written as follows:

To King Darius:

All greetings.

Cyrus told him, “Take these articles, put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.”

—came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which Yahweh, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted him everything he requested because the hand of Yahweh his God was on him.

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

He began the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month and arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month since the gracious hand of his God was on him.

Anyone who does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let a fair judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.

who was of Shecaniah’s descendants;
Zechariah, from Parosh’s descendants,
and 150 men with him who were registered by genealogy;

Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah
from Pahath-moab’s descendants,
and 200 men with him;

Shecaniah son of Jahaziel
from Zattu’s descendants,
and 300 men with him;

Ebed son of Jonathan
from Adin’s descendants,
and 50 men with him;

Jeshaiah son of Athaliah
from Elam’s descendants,
and 70 men with him;

Zebadiah son of Michael
from Shephatiah’s descendants,
and 80 men with him;

Obadiah son of Jehiel
from Joab’s descendants,
and 218 men with him;

Shelomith son of Josiphiah
from Bani’s descendants,
and 160 men with him;

Zechariah son of Bebai
from Bebai’s descendants,
and 28 men with him;

Johanan son of Hakkatan
from Azgad’s descendants,
and 110 men with him;

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.

I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions.

I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who abandon Him.”

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

While Ezra prayed and confessed, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, an extremely large assembly of Israelite men, women, and children gathered around him. The people also wept bitterly.