So says Cyrus king of Persia, Jehovah, the God of Heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Who is there among you of all His people? Let 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 in Jerusalem.

And whoever remains in any place where he resides, let the men of his place help him with silver and with gold and with goods and with animals, besides the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.

And the chiefs of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, and all whose spirit God had raised, rose up to go up to build the house of Jehovah which is in Jerusalem.

And Cyrus the king brought out the vessels of the house of Jehovah, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought out of Jerusalem and had put them in the house of his gods.

All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar brought up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

And these are the sons of the province who went up out of the captivity, of those who had been exiled, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had exiled to Babylon. And these came again to Jerusalem and Judah, each one to his city.

And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in its place.

And when the seventh month had come, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves as one man to Jerusalem.

And in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all they who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began. And they chose the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of Jehovah.

And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this way.

let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have come to Jerusalem, and are building the rebellious and the evil city, and have set up its walls, and have joined the foundations.

There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all Beyond the River. And toll, taxes, and custom was paid to them.

And when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they hurried to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them stop by force and power.

Then the work of the house of God at Jerusalem ceased. So it ceased to the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God at Jerusalem. And with them were the prophets of God helping them.

And also the vessels of gold and silver from the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor.

And he said to him, Take these vessels and go. Carry them into the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in His place.

Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem. And since that time even until now it has been building, but is not finished.

And therefore, if it seems good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house there at Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was given from Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem. And let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.

In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem. Let the house be built, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations of it be strongly laid. The height of it shall be sixty cubits, and the breadth of it shall be sixty cubits,

And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple at Jerusalem, and brought to Babylon, be given back and brought again to the temple which is at Jerusalem, to their place, and place them in the house of God.

And that which they have need of, both young bulls and rams and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of Heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the choice of the priests at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail,

And may the God who has caused His name to dwell there destroy all kings and people who shall put their hand to alter or to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I, Darius, have made a decree. Let it be done with speed.

And they set the priests in their sections, and the Levites in their divisions, for the service of God which is at Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.

And there went up some of the sons of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the temple slaves, to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, in the seventh year of the king.

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, according to the good hand of his God on him.

From me was made a decree that everyone of the people of Israel, and their priests and Levites in my kingdom, who desire of their own free will to go up to Jerusalem, go with you;

since you have been sent by the king, and by his seven counselors to ask about Judah and Jerusalem, according to the Law of your God in your hand;

and to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose house is in Jerusalem,

and all the silver and gold which you can find in all the province of Babylon, with the free will offering of the people and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God in Jerusalem.

Before all of this, you shall diligently buy with this money, bulls, rams, lambs, with their food offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.

Also the vessels which are given you for the service of the house of your God, deliver them before the God of Jerusalem.

Blessed be Jehovah, the God of our fathers, who has put this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem,

Watch and keep them until you weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and the chief of the fathers of Israel at Jerusalem in the rooms of the house of Jehovah.

So the priests and the Levites took the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

And we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was on us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and from ambushers by the way.

And we came to Jerusalem and stayed there three days.

For we were slaves, yet our God has not left us in our bondage, but has given mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us some life, to set up the house of our God, and to repair its waste, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the sons of the captivity, to gather themselves to Jerusalem,

Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves to Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month. And all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain.