Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and

Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth has LORD, the God of heaven, given me, and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Whoever there is 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 LORD, the God of Israel (he is God), which is in Jerusalem.

And whoever is left, in any place where he sojourns, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the freewill-offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.

Then the heads of fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, even all whose spirit God had stirred, rose up to go up to build the house of LORD which is in Jerusalem.

And all those who were round about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.

Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put in the house of his gods,

even those Cyrus king of Persia brought forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them to Sheshbazzar, the ruler of Judah.

And this is the number of them: thirty platters of gold, a thousand platters of silver, twenty-nine knives,

thirty bowls of gold, four hundred and ten silver bowls of a second sort, and a thousand other vessels.

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

Now these are the sons of the province who went up out of the captivity of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, every man to

who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:

The sons of Parosh, two thousand a hundred seventy-two.

The sons of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy-two.

The sons of Arah, seven hundred seventy-five.

The sons of Pahath-moab, of the sons of Jeshua [and] Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve.

The sons of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty-four.

The sons of Zattu, nine hundred forty-five.

The sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty.

The sons of Bani, six hundred forty-two.

The sons of Bebai, six hundred twenty-three.

The sons of Azgad, a thousand two hundred twenty-two.

The sons of Adonikam, six hundred sixty-six.

The sons of Bigvai, two thousand fifty-six.

The sons of Adin, four hundred fifty-four.

The sons of Ater, of Hezekiah, ninety-eight.

The sons of Bezai, three hundred twenty-three.

The sons of Jorah, a hundred and twelve.

The sons of Hashum, two hundred twenty-three.

The sons of Gibbar, ninety-five.

The sons of Bethlehem, a hundred twenty-three.

The men of Netophah, fifty-six.

The men of Anathoth, a hundred twenty-eight.

The sons of Azmaveth, forty-two.

The sons of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three.

The sons of Ramah and Geba, six hundred twenty-one.

The men of Michmas, a hundred twenty-two.

The men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred twenty-three.

The sons of Nebo, fifty-two.

The sons of Magbish, a hundred fifty-six.

The sons of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty-four.

The sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty.

The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty-five.

The sons of Jericho, three hundred forty-five.

The sons of Senaah, three thousand and six hundred and thirty.

The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy-three.

The sons of Immer, a thousand fifty-two.

The sons of Pashhur, a thousand two hundred forty-seven.

The sons of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.

The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodaviah, seventy-four.

The singers: the sons of Asaph, a hundred twenty-eight.

The sons of the porters: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, in all a hundred thirty-nine.

The Nethinim: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,

the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon,

the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub,

the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shamlai, the sons of Hanan,

the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah,

the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam,

the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai,

the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephisim,

the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,

the sons of Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,

the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah,

the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.

The sons of Solomon's servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Hassophereth, the sons of Peruda,

the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,

the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Ami.

All the Nethinim and the sons of Solomon's servants were three hundred ninety-two.

And these were those who went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, [and] Immer, but they could not show their fathers' houses, and their seed, whether they were of Israel:

the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, six hundred fifty and two.

And of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name.

And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.

besides their men-servants and their maid-servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty-seven. And they had two hundred singing men and singing women.

And some of the heads of fathers, when they came to the house of LORD which is in Jerusalem, offered willingly for the house of God to set it up in its place.

They gave after their ability into the treasury of the work sixty-one thousand darics of gold, and five thousand pounds of silver, and one hundred priests' garments.

So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

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

Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brothers, stood up and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt-offerings on it as it is written in the law of M

And they set the altar upon its base, for fear was upon them because of the peoples of the countries. And they offered burnt-offerings on it to LORD, even burnt-offerings morning and evening.

And they kept the feast of tabernacles as it is written, and [offered] the daily burnt-offerings by number according to the ordinance, as the duty of every day required.

And afterward the continual burnt-offering, and [the offerings] of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of LORD that were consecrated, and of everyone who willingly offered a freewill-offering to LORD.

From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt-offerings to LORD. But the foundation of the temple of LORD was not yet laid.

Also they gave money to the masons, and to the carpenters, and food, and drink, and oil, to those of Sidon, and to those of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus

Now 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 those

Then Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, stood together to have the oversight of the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brothers the Levites.

And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise LORD, after the order of David king of Israel.

But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers, the old men who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice, and many shouted aloud for joy.

So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the sons of the captivity were building a temple to LORD, the God of Israel,

then they drew near to Zerubbabel, and to the heads of fathers, and said to them, Let us build with you, for we seek your God, as ye do, and we sacrifice to him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria who brought us up here.

But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers of Israel, said to them, Ye have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God, but we ourselves together will build to LORD, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus

Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,

and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

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

And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. And the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian [character], and set forth in the Syrian [tongu

Then [wrote] Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the Dinaites, and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites,

and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over, and set in the city of Samaria, and in the rest beyond the River, and so forth.

This is a copy of the letter that they sent to Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men beyond the River, and so forth.

Be it known now to the king, that, if this city be built, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end it will be hurtful to the kings.