All of the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by the LORD God of Heaven, and he specifically charged me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Therefore, who among the LORD's people trusts in his God? Whoever among this group wishes to do so may travel to Jerusalem of Judah to rebuild the Temple of the LORD God of Israel, the God of Jerusalem.

they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the families with this message: "Let's build along with you, because, like you, we seek your God, as do you, and we've been making sacrifices to him since the reign of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who brought us here."

The letter sent to him was written like this: To: King Darius: Greetings!

"And Cyrus told him, "Take these utensils, go to Jerusalem, and carry them to the Temple, after the Temple of God has been built in its appropriate place.'

I hereby also decree that whoever shall alter the wording of this edict, let his residence be torn down for timber to build a gallows, hang him on it, and turn his home into an outhouse.

left Babylon. He was a skillful scribe of the Law of Moses that the LORD God of Israel had given. And the king granted him everything he had requested because the hand of the LORD his God was upon him.

On the first day of the first month he left Babylon and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, since the beneficent hand of his God was upon him.

From Pahath-moab's descendants: Zerahiah's son Eliehoenai and 200 men with him.

From Zattu's descendants: Jahaziel's son Shecaniah and 300 men with him.

From Adin's descendants: Jonathan's son Ebed and 50 men with him.

From Elam's descendants: Athaliah's son Jeshaiah and 70 men with him.

From Shephatiah's descendants: Michael's son Zebadiah and 80 men with him.

From Joab's descendants: Jehiel's son Obadiah and 218 men with him.

From Bani's descendants: Josiphiah's son Shelomith and 160 men with him.

From Bebai's descendants: Bebai's son Zechariah and 28 men with him.

From Azgad's descendants: Hakkatan's son Johanan and 110 men with him.

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

From Bigvai's descendants: Uthai, Zabbud, and 70 men with him.

I told them to go see Iddo, a leader of Casiphia, and tell him and his relatives (administrators of Casiphia) to bring us men who could serve in the Temple of our God.

Then I called for a fast there at the Ahava River so we could humble ourselves before our God and seek from him an appropriate way for us and our little ones to live, and how we should guard our personal wealth,

because I was ashamed to ask the king for a contingent of soldiers and cavalry to protect us from enemies we might encounter on the way. After all, we had told the king, "The hand of our God seeks the good of all who seek him, but his power and anger are against everyone who forsakes him."

Now while Ezra was praying and confessing in tears, having prostrated himself to the ground before the Temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelis men, women, and children gathered around him. Indeed, the people were crying bitterly.