In one year to Cyrus the king of Persia, to complete the word of Jehovah from the month of Jeremiah, Jehovah roused up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he will cause a voice to pass through in all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying,

And there will rise up the heads to the fathers to Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites to all God roused up his spirit, to go up to build the house of Jehovah which is in Jerusalem.

And the king Cyrus brought forth the vessels of the house of Jehovah, which Nebuchadnezzar brought forth from Jerusalem; and he will give them into the house of his God.

And Cyrus king of Persia will bring them forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and he will number them to Sheshbazzar, prince to Judah.

And these the sons of the province coming up from the captivity of the exiles which Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile to Babel; and they will turn back to Jerusalem and Judah, a man to his city;

From the sons of the priests: the sons of Habiah, the sons of Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and he will be called by their name.

These sought their writing of those being enrolled, and they found not: and they will be polluted from the priesthood.

And the Tirshatha will say to them, that they shall not eat from the holy of holies till there stood up a priest for Lights and Truth.

And the seventh month will draw near, and the sons of Israel in the cities, and the people will gather together as one man to Jerusalem.

And Joshua the son of Josedek, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and they will build the altar of the God of Israel, to bring up upon it burnt-offerings as written in the law of Moses the man of God.

And they will prepare the altar upon its foundations; for in the terror upon them from the people of the lands: and they will bring up burnt-offerings upon it to Jehovah, burnt-offerings for morning and for evening.

And they will do the festival of tents as written, and the burnt-offerings of a day in a day, in number according to judgment, the word of a day in its day.

And they will give silver to those hewing, and to those graving, and food and drink and oil to the Zidonians, and the Tyrians, to bring cedar woods from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa according to the permit of Cyrus king of Persia to them.

And in the second year to their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Joshua son of Josedek, and the remainder of their brethren the priests, and the Levites, and all those coming from the captivity to Jerusalem; and they will cause the Levites to stand up, from the son of twenty years and above, to superintend over the works of the house of Jehovah.

And Joshua will stand, his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, as one, to superintend over the doing of the work in the house of God: the sons of Henadad their sons, and their brethren the Levites.

And those building will lay the foundation of the temple of Jehovah, and they will cause the priests to stand, being clothed, with trumpets, and the Levites sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise Jehovah according to the hands of David king of Israel.

And they will answer in praising and in confessing to Jehovah, for he is good, for his mercy forever upon Israel. And all the people shouted a great shout in praising to Jehovah, for the foundation of the house of Jehovah.

And the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin will hear that the sons of the captivity were building the temple to Jehovah God of Israel;

And they will come near to Zerubbabel, and to the heads of the fathers, and they will say to them, We will build with you: for like you we will seek for your God: for we sacrifice not from the days of Esa-Haddon king of Assur bringing us up hither.

And to them Zerubbabel will say, and Joshua, and the rest of the heads of the fathers to Israel, Not to you and to us to build a house to our God; for we together will build to Jehovah God of Israel, as the king Cyrus king of Persia commanded us.

And the people of the land will be slackening the hands of the people of Judah, and terrifying them in building,

To be known to the king that the Jews who went up from with thee to us, came to Jerusalem, building the perverse and bad city, and they completed its wall, and they will repair its foundations.

Now to be known to the king that if this city shall be built and the walls be completed, tribute, excise, and toll, they will not give, and in the end it will endamage the kings.

That it shall be sought in the book of the records of thy fathers: and thou wilt find in the book of the records, and thou wilt know that this city a city perverse and endamaging kings and provinces, and working rebellion in the midst of it from days forever: for this, this city was laid waste.

And the eye of their God was upon the captivity of the Jews, and they caused them not to cease till the account went to Darius: and then they will return a letter concerning this.

And now if good to the king he shall seek in the house of the king's treasure there that is in Babel, if it be that from Cyrus the king a decree was set up to build this house of God in Jerusalem, and the king will send the will to us concerning this.

And the sons of the exile will do the passover in the fourteenth to the first month.

For the priests and Levites were purified as one, all of them being purified; and they will slaughter the pass-over for all the sons of the exile, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.

And the sons of Israel will eat; those turning back from exile and every one being separated from the uncleanness of the nations of the earth to them, to seek for Jehovah the God of Israel;

And they will do the festival of the unleavened seven days in gladness: for Jehovah gladdened them, and turned the heart of the king of Assur to them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel

This Ezra went up from Babel; and he a scribe skilled in the law of Moses which Jehovah God of Israel gave: and the king will give to him according to the hand of Jehovah upon him all his seeking.

And there will go up from the sons of Israel, and from the priests and the Levites, and those singing, and they watching the gates, and the Nethinims, to Jerusalem, in the seventh year to Arthasatha the king.

And he will come to Jerusalem in the fifth month, this the seventh year to the king.

And whatever to thee and to thy brethren shall be good to do with the rest of the silver and gold; according to the will of your God ye shall do.

And they will bring to us according to the good hand of our God upon us a man of understanding from the sons of Mahli, son of Levi, son of Israel; and Sherebiah, and his sons and his brethren, eighteen.

And we will fast and seek of our God concerning this; and he will be entreated for us.

And we removed from the river Ahava in the twelfth to the first month, to go to Jerusalem: and the band of our God was upon us and he will deliver us from the hand of the enemy, and of him lying in wait upon the way.

And they will give the king's laws to the king's satraps and prefects beyond the river: and they lifted up the people and the house of God.

And to me all will assemble, trembling at the word of the God of Israel for the transgression of the exile; and I sat astonished till the sacrifice of the evening.

Shall we turn back to break thy commands and to contract marriage with the people of these abonminations? Wilt thou not be angry with us even to finishing, for not a remaining and escaping.

And Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the sons of Elam, will answer and say to Ezra, We transgressed against our God, and we were dwelling with strange wives from the people of the land: and now there is hope to Israel concerning this.

And now we will cut out a covenant to our God to bring forth all the wives, and those being born of them upon the counsel of my lord, and of those trembling at the command of our God; and according to the law it shall be done.

And Ezra will rise and cause the chiefs to swear, the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to do according to this word. And they will swear.

And Ezra will rise up from before the house of God, and will go the chamber of Johanan son of Eliashib: and he will go there, he ate not bread and drank not water: for he was mourning for the transgression of the exiles.

And all the men of Judah and Benjamin will gather together at Jerusalem in three days. It was the ninth month, in the twentieth in the month, and all the people will sit in the broad place of the house of God, trembling for the word, and from the heavy showers.

And Ezra the priest will rise up and say to them, Ye transgressed, and ye will dwell with strange wives to add upon the guilt of Israel.

And all the convocation will answer and say, with a great voice, So to do according to thy words to us.

And thus the sons of the exile will do. And they will be separated, Ezra the priest, men, heads of the fathers, for the house of their fathers, and all of them by names, and they will it down in one day to the tenth month to seek out the word.

And they will finish with all the men dwelling with strange wives, even to one day to the first month.

And there will be found from the sons of the priest who dwelt with strange wives: from the sons of Joshua son of Josedek and his brethren: Maaseiah and Eleazar, and Jarib and Gedaliah.

And they will give their hand to bring forth their wives; and being guilty, a ram of the flock for their guilt.

All these took strange wives: and there is from them wives, and sons will be produced.