"Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: "'The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has instructed me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Anyone from his people among you (may his God be with him!) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may build the temple of the Lord God of Israel -- he is the God who is in Jerusalem.

Anyone who survives in any of those places where he is a resident foreigner must be helped by his neighbors with silver, gold, equipment, and animals, along with voluntary offerings for the temple of God which is in Jerusalem.'"

Then the leaders of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and the Levites -- all those whose mind God had stirred -- got ready to go up in order to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.

Then King Cyrus brought out the vessels of the Lord's temple which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem and had displayed in the temple of his gods.

The temple servants included:

Ziha’s descendants, Hasupha’s descendants,
Tabbaoth’s descendants,

All the temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants 392.

When they came to the Lord's temple in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders offered voluntary offerings for the temple of God in order to rebuild it on its site.

The priests, the Levites, and some of the people lived [in Jerusalem], and the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants [lived] in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

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

In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work, along with the rest of their associates, the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed the Levites who were at least twenty years old to take charge of the work on the Lord's temple.

So Jeshua appointed both his sons and his relatives, Kadmiel and his sons (the sons of Yehudah), to take charge of the workers in the temple of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their relatives the Levites.

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

With antiphonal response they sang, praising and glorifying the Lord: "For he is good; his loyal love toward Israel is forever." All the people gave a loud shout as they praised the Lord when the temple of the Lord was established.

But many of the elderly priests, Levites, and heads of the families who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house, but many {shouted aloud with joy}.

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity built the temple unto the LORD God of Israel;

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, "You have no right to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the Lord God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us."

And now in the mean season we have destroyed the temple, and would no longer see the king's dishonour. Therefore sent we out, and caused the king to be certified thereof:

So the work on the temple of God in Jerusalem came to a halt. It remained halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates River, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues came to the Jews and asked, “Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?”

Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands.

So we questioned the elders and asked, “Who gave you the order to rebuild this temple and finish this structure?”

This is the reply they gave us:

We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.

But since our fathers angered the God of heaven, He handed them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.

But in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, King Cyrus enacted a decree to rebuild this temple of God.

And the articles 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 unto one, whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor;

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

Then this Sheshbazzar went and laid the foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem. From that time to the present moment it has been in the process of being rebuilt, although it is not yet finished.'

"Now if the king is so inclined, let a search be conducted in the royal archives there in Babylon in order to determine whether King Cyrus did in fact issue orders for this temple of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us a decision concerning this matter."

In the first year of his reign, King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: 'Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety feet,

Let the Temple be rebuilt where they offered sacrifices. Let the foundations thereof be laid with a height of 60 cubits and a width of 60 cubits, constructed with three layers of foundation stone interlaced with a row of new timber, the expenses for which are to be paid from the king's treasury.

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

Leave the work on this temple of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this temple of God in its proper place.

"I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work.

May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation who reaches out to cause such change so as to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given orders. Let them be carried out with precision!"

They finished this temple on the third day of the month Adar, which is the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

The people of Israel -- the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles -- observed the dedication of this temple of God with joy.

For the dedication of this temple of God they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and twelve male goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the Lord had given them joy and had changed the opinion of the king of Assyria toward them, so that he assisted them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.

Some of the {Israelites}, some priests and Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

You are carrying silver and gold that the king and his advisors have freely given to the God of Israel, whose Temple is in Jerusalem,

along with all the silver and gold that you may collect throughout all the province of Babylon and the contributions of the people and the priests for the temple of their God which is in Jerusalem.

With this money you should be sure to purchase bulls, rams, and lambs, along with the appropriate meal offerings and libations. You should bring them to the altar of the temple of your God which is in Jerusalem.

Deliver to the God of Jerusalem the vessels that are given to you for the service of the temple of your God.

The rest of the needs for the temple of your God that you may have to supply, you may do so from the royal treasury.

Everything that the God of heaven has required should be precisely done for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be wrath against the empire of the king and his sons?

You also should be aware that it is not permitted to place tax, tribute, or duty upon all of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, and other servants of the house of God.

Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who so moved in the heart of the king to so honor the temple of the Lord which is in Jerusalem!

I sent them to Iddo, the head of the place called Casiphia, and I placed in their mouths what words to say to Iddo and his brothers the temple servants in Casiphia, to send to us ministers for the house of our God.

And from the temple servants, whom David and [his] officials had set up to serve the Levites, two hundred and twenty [in total]. All of them were registered by name.

and I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the vessels intended for the temple of our God -- items that the king, his advisers, his officials, and all Israel who were present had contributed.

Be careful with them and protect them, until you weigh them out before the leading priests and the Levites and the family leaders of Israel in Jerusalem, in the storerooms of the temple of the Lord."

Then the priests and the Levites took charge of the silver, the gold, and the vessels that had been weighed out, to transport them to Jerusalem to the temple of our God.

On the fourth day the silver, the gold, and the vessels were distributed at the Temple of our God into the care of Uriah's son Meremoth the priest, Phinehas' son Eleazar, Jeshua's son Jozabad, and Binnui's son Noadiah, the descendants of Levi.

Then they presented the decrees of the king to the king's satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who gave help to the people and to the temple of God.

Although we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our servitude. He has extended kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, in that he has revived us to restore the temple of our God and to raise up its ruins and to give us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself to the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites -- men, women, and children alike -- gathered around him. The people wept loudly.

Then Ezra got up from in front of the temple of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he stayed there, he did not eat food or drink water, for he was in mourning over the infidelity of the exiles.

All the men of Judah and Benjamin were gathered in Jerusalem within the three days. (It was in the ninth month, on the twentieth day of that month.) All the people sat in the square at the temple of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the rains.