And they began on the first of the first month to hallow, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the porch of Jehovah; and they hallowed the house of Jehovah eight days; and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.

Then came they in unto Hezekiah the king, and said, We have purified all the house of Yahweh, - the altar of ascending-sacrifice, and all the utensils thereof, and the table for setting in array, and all the utensils thereof.

And he caused the Levites to stand in the house of Yahweh, with cymbals and with harps and with lyres, by the commandment of David, and of Gad the seer of the king, and of Nathan the prophet, - for, by the hand of Yahweh, came the commandment by the hand of his prophets.

And it came to pass that, the number of ascending-sacrifices which the convocation brought, was - seventy bullocks, and a hundred rams, and two hundred young sheep, - as an ascending-sacrifice unto Yahweh, all these.

Because there weren't enough priests, they were unable to prepare all the burnt offerings until other priests came forward after having consecrated themselves, so their descendant of Levi relatives assisted them until the services were complete. (The descendants of Levi had been more conscientious in consecrating themselves than had been the priests.)

Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.

Nevertheless certain of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.

Also, upon Judah, came the hand of God, to give them one heart, - to keep the commandment of the king and the rulers, as the word of Yahweh.

Now many people were gathered at Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month; it was a very large assembly.

All the assembly of Judah rejoiced, with the priests and the Levites and all the assembly that came from Israel, both the sojourners who came from the land of Israel and those living in Judah.

Then the Levitical priests arose and blessed the people; and their voice was heard and their prayer came to His holy dwelling place, to heaven.

And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites by their divisions, each according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord.

And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.

And the children of Israel and Judah, who were living in the towns of Judah came with the tenth part of their oxen and sheep, and a tenth of all the holy things which were to be given to the Lord their God, and put them in great masses.

When Hezekiah and the rulers came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and His people Israel.

And Azariah, the chief priest, of the family of Zadok, said in answer, From the time when the people first came with their offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had food enough, and more than enough: for the blessing of the Lord is on his people; and there is this great store which has not been used.

They faithfully brought in the contributions, the tithes, and the sacred (dedicated) things. Conaniah the Levite was in charge of them, and Shimei his brother was second [in authority].

besides those from three years old and upward who as males were entered in the genealogical register, all that came into the house of Jehovah, as the duty of every day required, for their service in their charges, according to their divisions,

And to the priests that were reckoned in the households of their fathers from twenty years and above, to wait when their courses came.

After these acts of faithfulness Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, and thought to break into them for himself.

And Hezekiah will see that Senherib came, and his face for war against Jerusalem.

he took counsel with his commanders and his mighty warriors to block off the waters of the springs that [came] from outside the city, and they helped him.

And so there gathered much people together and stopped all the wells, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land; intending that the kings of Assyria should not find much water when they came.

And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed every mighty warrior, commander and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned in shame to his own land. And when he had entered the temple of his god, some of his own children killed him there with the sword.

And great numbers came to Jerusalem with offerings for the Lord, and things of great price for Hezekiah, king of Judah: so that he was honoured among all nations from that time.

But Hezekiah gave no return for the benefit he received, because his heart was proud; therefore wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.

Then Hezekiah humbled himself, for the uplifting of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, - so that the wrath of Yahweh came not upon them, in the days of Hezekiah.

And it came to pass that, Hezekiah, had riches and honour in great abundance, - and, treasuries, made he for himself - for silver and for gold and for costly stones, and for spices and for precious things, and for all utensils to be coveted;

Yet verily, with regard to the ambassadors of the rulers of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire concerning the wonderful token which came to pass in the land, God left him, - to prove him, to take note of all that was in his heart.

And the word of the Lord came to Manasseh and his people, but they gave no attention.

and, when he prayed unto him, then was he entreated of him, and hearkened unto his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem, unto his own kingdom, and so Manasseh came to know, that, Yahweh, is God.

They came to Hilkiah the high priest and delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the doorkeepers, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Now when they were taking out the money which had come into the Lord's house, Hilkiah the priest came across the book of the law of the Lord, which he had given by the mouth of Moses.

And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes.

After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt came up to make war at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to engage him.

And the other sent messengers to him, saying, "What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I came not against thee now at this time, but against a house with whom I have war, and God bade me haste. Leave off therefore and meddle not with God, which is with me, lest he destroy thee."

However, Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to make war with him; nor did he listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to make war on the plain of Megiddo.

So his servants took him out of the line of war-carriages, and put him in his second carriage and took him to Jerusalem, where he came to his end, and they put his body in the resting-place of his fathers. And in all Judah and Jerusalem there was great weeping for Josiah.

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him and bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon.

and, when the year came round, King Nebuchadnezzar sent, and carried him to Babylon, with the precious utensils of the house of Yahweh, - and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.

And all who had not come to death by the sword he took away prisoners to Babylon; and they became servants to him and to his sons till the kingdom of Persia came to power:

So that all the vessels both of gold and silver, were five thousand and four hundred. Sheshbazzar brought them all up, with them that came up out of the captivity of Babylon unto Jerusalem.

Now these are the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city.

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

Now these are those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan and Immer, but they were not able to give evidence of their fathers’ households and their descendants, whether they were of Israel:

And the Tirshatha said that they were not to have the most holy things for their food, till a priest came to give decision by Urim and Thummim.

And some of the chief fathers, when they came to the house of Jehovah which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in its place.

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

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 who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites from twenty years and older to oversee the work of the house of the Lord.

So that in the ears of the people the cry of joy was mixed with the sound of weeping; for the cries of the people were loud and came to the ears of those who were a long way off.

Now news came to the haters of Judah and Benjamin that the people who had come back were building a Temple to the Lord, the God of Israel;

and they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief fathers, and said to them, We would build with you; for we seek your God, as ye; and we have sacrificed to him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up hither.

Then came it to pass, that, the people of the land, were weakening the hands of the people of Judah, - and troubling them in building;

let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem; they are rebuilding the rebellious and evil city and are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations.

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.

At that time Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues came to them and spoke to them thus, “Who issued you a decree to rebuild this temple and to finish this structure?”

But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, and they did not make them cease till the matter came to Darius; and then they returned answer by letter concerning it.

Be it known unto the king, that we came into Jewry to the house of the great God, which is builded with all manner of stone, and beams are laid in the walls, and the work goeth fast forth, and prospereth in their hands?

Then that Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem; and from then until now it has been under construction and it is not yet completed.’

And at Achmetha, in the great house of the king in the land of Media, they came across a roll, in which this statement was put on record:

And the sons of Israel who came again out of the captivity, and all such as had separated themselves to them from the filthiness of the nations of the land, to seek LORD, the God of Israel, ate,

Now after these things had happened, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra came up from Babylon. Ezra was the son of Seraiah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Hilkiah,

this Ezra, came up out of Babylon, he, being a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which Yahweh God of Israel had given, - and the king gave him, according to the hand of Yahweh his God upon him, all his request.

So then there came up some of the sons of Israel, and some of the priests and the Levites and the singers and the doorkeepers and the Nethinim, unto Jerusalem, - in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

He came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.

For on the first of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, because the good hand of his God was upon him.

Now, these, are their ancestral heads, and their genealogical register, - even of those who came up with me, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king, out of Babylon: -

From the descendants of Adonikam, those who came last, these were their names: Eliphelet, Jeiel, Shemaiah, and with them sixty males.

Thus we came to Jerusalem and remained there three days.

They who came in out of the captivity, Sons of the Exile, offered as ascending-sacrifices unto the God of Israel - bullocks twelve for all Israel, rams ninety-six, young sheep seventy-seven, he-goats for bearing sin, twelve, - the whole, as an ascending-sacrifice unto Yahweh.

Now when these things were completed, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites;

Then everyone who went in fear of the words of the God of Israel, because of the sin of those who had come back, came together to me; and I kept where I was, overcome with grief, till the evening offering.

Now while Ezra was making his prayer and his statement of wrongdoing, weeping and falling down before the house of God, a very great number of men and women and children out of Israel came together round him: for the people were weeping bitterly.

Then arose Ezra from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib, - and, when he came thither, bread, did he not eat, and, water, did he not drink, for he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of them of the Exile.

and that whosoever came not within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the captivity.

Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin came together to Jerusalem before three days were past; it was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people were seated in the wide square in front of the house of God, shaking with fear because of this business and because of the great rain.

The story of Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah, - and it came to pass, in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, when, I, was in Shusan the fortress,

that Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem.

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and I mourned certain days, - and continued fasting and praying, before the God of the heavens;

And it came about in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.

Then I came to the governors of the provinces beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.

And Sanballat the Horonite will hear, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and it will be evil to them a great evil that a man came to seek good for the sons of Israel.

So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.

I continued up the valley during the night, inspecting the wall. Then I turned back and came to the Valley Gate, and so returned.

So Eliashib the high priest came forward, along with his fellow priests, and reconstructed the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and installed its doors. They also consecrated the wall as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel.

Then came the Levites, Rehum, the son of Bani. By his side was working Hashabiah, ruler of half the division of Keilah, for his division.

After them came Benjamin and Hasshub, opposite their house. After them Azariah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made good the wall by the house where he himself was living.

Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews.

But it came to pass, when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem had gone up, that the breaches began to be stopped, that it angered them exceedingly;

When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,”

And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had overturned their counsel, then returned we, all of us, unto the wall, every man unto his work.

And it came to pass, from that day, the half of my young men, were working in the work, and, the half of them, were grasping the spears, the bucklers, and the bows, and the coats of mail, - but, the rulers, were behind all the house of Judah.

So we carried on with the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars came out.

Then came there to be a great outcry of the people and their wives, - against their brethren the Jews.

I laboured also in the work upon the wall, and bought no land. And all my servants came thither together unto the work.

Moreover, there were at my table one hundred and fifty Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.

Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;)

Notwithstanding, I sent messengers unto them, saying, "I have a great business to do, I cannot come down. The work should stand still, if I were negligent, and came down to you."

Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.

And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.