and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah his God, he hath not been humbled before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of Jehovah;

And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, at the completion of the word of Jehovah from the mouth of Jeremiah, hath Jehovah waked up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he causeth an intimation to pass over into all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying,

and all those round about them have strengthened them with their hands, with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, apart from all that hath been offered willingly.

All the vessels of gold and of silver are five thousand and four hundred; the whole hath Sheshbazzar brought up with the going up of the removal from Babylon to Jerusalem.

And these are those going up from Tel-Melah, Tel-Harsa, Cherub, Addan, Immer, and they have not been able to declare the house of their fathers, and their seed, whether they are of Israel:

And of the sons of the priests: sons of Habaiah, sons of Koz, sons of Barzillai (who took from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite a wife, and is called by their name;)

these have sought their register among those reckoning themselves by genealogy, and they have not been found, and they are redeemed from the priesthood,

apart from their servants and their handmaids; these are seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and of them are singers and songstresses two hundred.

From the first day of the seventh month they have begun to cause burnt-offerings to ascend to Jehovah, and the temple of Jehovah hath not been founded,

and they give money to hewers and to artificers, and food, and drink, and oil to Zidonians and to Tyrians, to bring in cedar-trees from Lebanon unto the sea of Joppa, according to the permission of Cyrus king of Persia concerning them.

And in the second year of their coming in unto the house of God, to Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those coming from the captivity to Jerusalem, and they appoint the Levites from a son of twenty years and upward, to overlook the work of the house of Jehovah.

and the people are not discerning the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people are shouting -- a great shout -- and the noise hath been heard unto a distance.

Be it known to the king, that the Jews who have come up from thee unto us, have come in to Jerusalem, the rebellious and base city they are building, and the walls they have finished, and the foundations they join.

so that he doth seek in the book of the records of thy fathers, and thou dost find in the book of the records, and dost know, that this city is a rebellious city, and causing loss to kings and provinces, and makers of sedition are in its midst from the days of old, therefore hath this city been wasted.

and by me a decree hath been made, and they sought, and have found that this city from the days of old against kings is lifting up itself, and rebellion and sedition is made in it,

Then from the time that a copy of the letter of king Artaxerxes is read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they have gone in haste to Jerusalem, unto the Jews, and caused them to cease by force and strength;

Then hath this Sheshbazzar come -- he hath laid the foundations of the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and from thence even till now it hath been building, and is not finished.

Now, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions, the Apharsachites, who are beyond the river, be ye far from hence;

'And by me is made a decree, that any one who changeth this thing, let wood be pulled down from his house, and being raised up, let him be smitten on it, and his house let be made a dunghill for this.

And the sons of Israel, those returning from the captivity, and every one who is separated from the uncleanness of the nations of the land unto them, to seek to Jehovah, God of Israel, do eat,

Ezra himself hath come up from Babylon, and he is a scribe ready in the law of Moses, that Jehovah God of Israel gave, and the king giveth to him -- according to the hand of Jehovah his God upon him -- all his request.

for on the first of the month he hath founded the ascent from Babylon, and on the first of the fifth month he hath come in unto Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him,

because that from the king and his seven counsellors thou art sent, to inquire concerning Judah and concerning Jerusalem, with the law of God that is in thy hand,

and the rest of the needful things of the house of thy God, that it falleth to thee to give, thou dost give from the treasure-house of the king.

And these are heads of their fathers, and the genealogy of those going up with me, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king, from Babylon.

From the sons of Phinehas: Gershom; from the sons of Ithamar: Daniel; from the sons of David: Hattush;

from the sons of Shechaniah, from the sons of Pharosh: Zechariah, and with him, reckoning themselves by genealogy, of males a hundred and fifty.

From the sons of Pahath-Moab: Elihoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred who are males.

From the sons of Shechaniah: the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred who are males.

And from the sons of Adin: Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him fifty who are males.

And from the sons of Elam: Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him seventy who are males.

And from the sons of Shephatiah: Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him eighty who are males.

From the sons of Joab: Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen who are males.

And from the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and sixty who are males.

And from the sons of Bebai: Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight who are males.

And from the sons of Azgad: Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten who are males.

And from the younger sons of Adonikam -- and these are their names -- Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty who are males.

And from the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with them seventy who are males.

and from the Nethinim, whom David and the heads gave for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim, all of them defined by name.

And I proclaim there a fast, by the river Ahava, to afflict ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a right way for us, and for our infants, and for all our substance,

for I was ashamed to ask from the king a force and horsemen to help us because of the enemy in the way, for we spake to the king, saying, 'The hand of our God is upon all seeking Him for good, and His strength and His wrath is upon all forsaking Him.'

And we fast, and seek from our God for this, and He is entreated of us.

And I separate from the heads of the priests, twelve, even Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them of their brethren ten,

And we journey from the river Ahava, on the twelfth of the first month, to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God hath been upon us, and He delivereth us from the hand of the enemy and the lier in wait by the way;

And at the completion of these things, drawn nigh unto me have the heads, saying, 'The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not been separated from the peoples of the lands, as to their abominations, even the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, the Ammonite, the Moabite, the Egyptian, and the Amorite,

And at the present of the evening I have risen from mine affliction, and at my rending my garment and my upper robe, then I bow down on my knees, and spread out my hands unto Jehovah my God,

From the days of our fathers we are in great guilt unto this day, and in our iniquities we have been given -- we, our kings, our priests -- into the hand of the kings of the lands, with sword, with captivity, and with spoiling, and with shame of face, as at this day.

'And now, as a small moment hath grace been from Jehovah our God, to leave to us an escape, and to give to us a nail in His holy place, by our God's enlightening our eyes, and by giving us a little quickening in our servitude;

that Thou hast commanded by the hands of thy servants the prophets, saying, The land into which ye are going to possess it, is a land of impurity, by the impurity of the people of the lands, by their abominations with which they have filled it -- from mouth unto mouth -- by their uncleanness;

'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),

And Ezra riseth from before the house of God, and goeth unto the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib; yea, he goeth there, bread he hath not eaten, and water he hath not drunk, for he is mourning because of the trespass of the removal.

and every one who cometh not in by the third day, according to the counsel of the heads and of the elders, all his substance is devoted, and himself separated from the assembly of the removal.

and, now, make confession to Jehovah, God of your fathers, and do His good pleasure, and be separated from the peoples of the land, and from the strange women.'

Let, we pray thee, our heads of all the assembly stand, and all who are in our cities, who have settled strange wives, do come in at the times appointed, and with them the elders of city and city, and its judges, till the turning back of the fury of the wrath of our God from us, for this thing.'

And the gate of the fountain hath Shallum son of Col-Hozeh, head of the district of Mizpah, strengthened: he doth build it, and cover it, and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars, and the wall of the pool of Siloah, to the garden of the king, and unto the steps that are going down from the city of David.

And Ezer son of Jeshua, head of Mizpah, doth strengthen, by his hand, a second measure, from over-against the ascent of the armoury at the angle.

After him hath Baruch son of Zabbai hastened to strengthen a second measure from the angle unto the opening of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

After him hath Meremoth son of Urijah, son of Koz, strengthened, a second measure, from the opening of the house of Eliashib even unto the completion of the house of Eliashib.

After him hath Binnui son of Henadad strengthened, a second measure, from the house of Azariah unto the angle, and unto the corner.

Palal son of Uzai, from over-against the angle, and the tower that is going out from the upper house of the king that is at the court of the prison; after him Pedaiah son of Parosh.

After him have the Tekoites strengthened, a second measure, from over-against the great tower that goeth out, and unto the wall of Ophel.

From above the horse-gate have the priests strengthened, each over-against his house.

and do not cover over their iniquity, and their sin from before Thee let not be blotted out, for they have provoked to anger -- over-against those building.

And it cometh to pass, when the Jews have come who are dwelling near them, that they say to us ten times from all the places whither ye return -- they are against us.

yea, it cometh to pass, from that day, half of my servants are working in the business, and half of them are keeping hold of both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the heads are behind all the house of Judah.

And I say unto the freemen, and unto the prefects, and unto the rest of the people, 'The work is abundant, and large, and we are separated on the wall, far off one from another;

And we are working in the business, and half of them are keeping hold of the spears, from the going up of the dawn till the coming forth of the stars.

also, my lap I have shaken, and I say, 'Thus doth God shake out every man, who doth not perform this thing, from his house, and from his labour; yea, thus is he shaken out and empty;' and all the assembly say, 'Amen,' and praise Jehovah; and the people do according to this thing.

Also, from the day that he appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the thirty and second year of Artaxerxes the king -- twelve years -- I, and my brethren, the bread of the governor have not eaten:

And I send unto him, saying, 'It hath not been according to these words that thou art saying, for from thine own heart thou art devising them;'

And these are those coming up from Tel-Melah, Tel-Harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer -- and they have not been able to declare the house of their fathers, and their seed, whether they are of Israel --

And of the priests: sons of Habaiah sons of Koz, sons of Barzillai, who hath taken from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite a wife, and is called by their name.

These have sought their register among those reckoning themselves by genealogy, and it hath not been found, and they are redeemed from the priesthood,

apart from their servants and their handmaids -- these are seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven; and of them are singers and songstresses, two hundred forty and five.

And from the extremity of the heads of the fathers they have given to the work; the Tirshatha hath given to the treasure, of gold, drams a thousand, bowls fifty, priests' coats thirty and five hundred.

and he readeth in it before the broad place that is before the water-gate, from the light till the middle of the day, over-against the men, and the women, and those intelligent, and the ears of all the people are unto the book of the law.

And they make -- all the assembly of the captives of the captivity -- booths, and they sit in booths; for the sons of Israel had not done, from the days of Jeshua son of Nun, so unto that day, and there is very great joy.

And he readeth in the book of the law of God day by day, from the first day till the last day, and they make a feast seven days, and on the eighth day a restraint, according to the ordinance.

and the seed of Israel are separated from all sons of a stranger, and stand and confess concerning their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers,

And the Levites say, even Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, Pethahiah, 'Rise, bless Jehovah your God, from the age unto the age, and they bless the name of Thine honour that is exalted above all blessing and praise.

Thou art He, O Jehovah God, who didst fix on Abraham, and didst bring him out from Ur of the Chaldeans, and didst make his name Abraham,

'And on mount Sinai Thou hast come down, even to speak with them from the heavens, and Thou dost give to them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commands.

and bread from the heavens Thou hast given to them for their hunger, and water from a rock hast brought out to them for their thirst, and dost say to them to go in to possess the land that Thou hast lifted up Thy hand to give to them.

and Thou, in Thine abundant mercies, hast not forsaken them in the wilderness -- the pillar of the cloud hath not turned aside from off them by day, to lead them in the way, and the pillar of the fire by night, to give light to them and the way in which they go.

'And Thy good Spirit Thou hast given, to cause them to act wisely; and Thy manna Thou hast not withheld from their mouth, and water Thou hast given to them for their thirst,

and Thou givest them into the hand of their adversaries, and they distress them, and in the time of their distress they cry unto Thee, and Thou, from the heavens, dost hear, and, according to Thine abundant mercies, dost give to them saviours, and they save them out of the hand of their adversaries.

'And when they have rest, they turn back to do evil before Thee, and Thou dost leave them in the hand of their enemies, and they rule over them; and they turn back, and call Thee, and Thou from the heavens dost hear, and dost deliver them, according to Thy mercies, many times,

And now, O our God -- God, the great, the mighty, and the fearful, keeping the covenant and the kindness -- let not all the travail that hath found us be little before Thee, for our kings, for our heads, and for our priests, and for our prophets, and for our fathers, and for all Thy people, from the days of the kings of Asshur unto this day;

and they, in their kingdom, and in Thine abundant goodness, that Thou hast given to them, and in the land, the large and the fat, that Thou hast set before them, have not served Thee, nor turned back from their evil doings.

And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Nethinim, and every one who hath been separated from the peoples of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every knowing intelligent one,

Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, Azekah and its small towns; and they encamp from Beer-Sheba unto the valley of Hinnom.

and sons of the singers are gathered together even from the circuit round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi,

and from the house of Gilgal, and from fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for villages have the singers built for themselves round about Jerusalem;

And the second thanksgiving company that is going over-against, and I after it, and half of the people on the wall from beyond the tower of the furnaces and unto the broad wall,

and from beyond the gate of Ephraim, and by the old-gate, and by the fish-gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, and unto the sheep-gate -- and they have stood at the prison-gate.

And it cometh to pass, at their hearing the law, that they separate all the mixed people from Israel.

and I testify against them, and say unto them, 'Wherefore are ye lodging over-against the wall? if ye repeat it, a hand I put forth upon you;' from that time they have not come in on the sabbath.

And one of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest, is son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite, and I cause him to flee from off me.

And I have cleansed them from every stranger, and appoint charges to priests and to Levites, each in his work,

And it cometh to pass, in the days of Ahasuerus -- he is Ahasuerus who is reigning from Hodu even unto Cush, seven and twenty and a hundred provinces --