And when the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people came together like one man to Jerusalem.

and they draw nigh unto Zerubbabel, and unto heads of the fathers, and say to them, 'Let us build with you; for, like you, we seek to your God, and we are not sacrificing since the days of Esar-Haddon king of Asshur, who brought us up hither.'

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

And look: what it liketh thee and thy brethren to do with the remnant of the money, that do after the will of your God.

I king Artaxerxes have commanded all the treasurers beyond the water, that look: whatsoever Ezra, the priest and scribe in the law of the God of heaven, requireth of you; that ye fulfill the same diligently,

Blessed be Yahweh, God of our fathers, - who hath put the like of this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of Yahweh, which is in Jerusalem;

And I shall gather them together to the river going to Ahava, and there we shall encamp three days: and I shall look upon the people and upon the priests, and from the sons of Levi I found not these.

Guard and look after [them] until you weigh [them] before the chief priests, the Levites, and the heads of the {families} of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chamber of the house of Yahweh."

After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said: “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.

'And after all that hath come upon us for our evil works, and for our great guilt (for Thou, O our God, hast kept back of the rod from our iniquities, and hast given to us an escape like this),

LORD God of Israel, you are just: As a result, we remain here today delivered. Look at us! Because of our sin, we cannot stand in your presence as a result of everything that has happened."