Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Who is there 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 the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) who is in Jerusalem.

And whoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the free-will-offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.

Then arose the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.

Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from 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 did Sheshbazzar bring with them of the captivity that were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Now these are the children of the province that went up from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and came again to Jerusalem and Judah, every one to his city;

And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which is 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 children of Israel were in the cities, the people assembled themselves as one man at Jerusalem.

Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD.

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

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

Be it known to the king, that the Jews who came from thee to us are come to Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the noxious city, and have set up its walls, and joined the foundations.

There have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid to them.

Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.

Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased until 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 that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even to them.

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

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

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

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

Now therefore, if it seemeth good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure-house, which is there at Babylon, whether it is so, that a decree was made by 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, the same 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 hight of it sixty cubits, and the breadth of it sixty cubits;

And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought to Babylon, be restored, and brought again to the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to its place, and place them in the house of God.

And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt-offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests who are at Jerusalem, let it be given to them day by day without fail:

And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall attempt to alter and 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 divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, who is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses.

And there went some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

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

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

I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, who are disposed of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with thee.

Forasmuch as thou art sent by the king, and by his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thy hand;

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

And all the silver and gold that thou canst 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 which is in Jerusalem:

That thou mayest buy speedily with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.

The vessels also that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, those deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem.

Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, who hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem:

Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them, before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.

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.

Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.

And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.

For we were bond-men; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations of it, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should assemble at Jerusalem;

Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, and the twentieth day 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.