and to carry silver and gold that the king and his counsellors willingly offered to the God of Israel, whose tabernacle is in Jerusalem,

and all the silver and gold that thou findest in all the province of Babylon, with the free-will offerings of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly, for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem,

therefore thou dost speedily buy with this money, bullocks, rams, lambs, and their presents, and their libations, and dost bring them near to the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem,

'And the vessels that are given to thee, for the service of the house of thy God, make perfect before the God of Jerusalem;

Blessed is Jehovah, God of our fathers, who hath given such a thing as this in the heart of the king, to beautify the house of Jehovah that is in Jerusalem,

watch, and keep, till ye weigh before the heads of the priests, and of the Levites, and the heads of the fathers of Israel, in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of Jehovah.'

And the priests and the Levites took the weight of the silver, and of the gold, and of the vessels, to bring to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

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 we come in to Jerusalem, and dwell there three days.

for servants we are, and in our servitude our God hath not forsaken us, and stretcheth out unto us kindness before the kings of Persia, to give to us a quickening to lift up the house of our God, and to cause its wastes to cease, and to give to us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

And they cause a voice to pass over into Judah and Jerusalem, to all sons of the removal, to be gathered to Jerusalem,

And gathered are all the men of Judah and Benjamin to Jerusalem by the third day, it is the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sit in the broad place of the house of God, trembling on account of the matter and of the showers.

and come in doth Hanani, one of my brethren, he and men of Judah, and I ask them concerning the Jews, the escaped part that have been left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem;

and they say to me, 'Those left, who have been left of the captivity there in the province, are in great evil, and in reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burnt with fire.'

And I come in unto Jerusalem, and I am there three days,

and I rise by night, I and a few men with me, and have not declared to a man what my God is giving unto my heart to do for Jerusalem, and there is no beast with me except the beast on which I am riding.

And I go out through the gate of the valley by night, and unto the front of the fountain of the dragon, and unto the gate of the dunghill, and I am measuring about the walls of Jerusalem, that are broken down, and its gates consumed with fire.

and I say unto them, 'Ye are seeing the evil that we are in, in that Jerusalem is waste, and its gates have been burnt with fire; come and we build the wall of Jerusalem, and we are not any more a reproach.'

And I return them word, and say to them, 'The God of the heavens -- He doth give prosperity to us, and we His servants rise and have built; and to you there is no portion, and right, and memorial in Jerusalem.'

By his hand hath Uzziel son of Harhaiah of the refiners strengthened; and by his hand hath Hananiah son of one of the compounders strengthened; and they leave Jerusalem unto the broad wall.

And by their hand hath Rephaiah son of Hur, head of the half of the district of Jerusalem, strengthened.

And by his hand hath Shallum son of Halohesh, head of the half of the district of Jerusalem, strengthened, he and his daughters.

And it cometh to pass, when Sanballat hath heard, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, that lengthening hath gone up to the walls of Jerusalem, that the breeches have begun to be stopped, then it is very displeasing to them,

and they conspire, all of them together, to come in to fight against Jerusalem, and to do to it injury.

Also, at that time I said to the people, 'Let each with his servant lodge in the midst of Jerusalem, and they have been to us by night a guard, and by day for the work:'

And also, prophets thou hast appointed to call for thee in Jerusalem, saying, A king is in Judah, and now it is heard by the king according to these words; and now come, and we take counsel together.'

and I charge Hanani my brother, and Hananiah head of the palace, concerning Jerusalem -- for he is as a man of truth, and fearing God above many --

and I say to them, 'Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened till the heat of the sun, and while they are standing by let them shut the doors, and fasten, and appoint guards of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each in his guard, and each over-against his house.'

These are sons of the province, those coming up of the captives of the removal that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed -- and they turn back to Jerusalem and to Judah, each to his city --

and that they proclaim and cause to pass over all their cities, (and in Jerusalem,) saying, 'Go ye out to the mount, and bring leaves of the olive, and leaves of the oil tree, and leaves of the myrtle, and leaves of the palms, and leaves of thick trees, to make booths as it is written.'

And the heads of the people dwell in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people have caused to fall lots to bring in one out of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts in the cities,

and the people give a blessing to all the men who are offering themselves willingly to dwell in Jerusalem.

And these are heads of the province who have dwelt in Jerusalem, and in cities of Judah, they have dwelt each in his possession in their cities; Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinim, and the sons of the servants of Solomon.

And in Jerusalem have dwelt of the sons of Judah, and of the sons of Benjamin. Of the sons of Judah: Athaiah son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalaleel, of the sons of Perez;

all the sons of Perez who are dwelling in Jerusalem are four hundred sixty and eight, men of valour.

And the overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem is Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micha: of the sons of Asaph, the singers are over-against the work of the house of God,

And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them in to Jerusalem, to make the dedication even with gladness, and with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps;

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 they sacrifice on that day great sacrifices and rejoice, for God hath made them rejoice with great joy, and also, the women and the children have rejoiced, and the joy of Jerusalem is heard -- unto a distance.

And during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty and second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon did I come unto the king, and at the end of days I have asked of the king,

and I come in to Jerusalem, and understand concerning the evil that Eliashib hath done for Tobiah, to make to him a chamber in the courts of the house of God,

In those days I have seen in Judah those treading wine-vats on sabbath, and bringing in the sheaves, and lading on the asses, and also, wine, grapes, and figs, and every burden, yea, they are bringing in to Jerusalem on the sabbath-day, and I testify in the day of their selling provision.

And the Tyrians have dwelt in it, bringing in fish, and every ware, and selling on sabbath to the sons of Judah and in Jerusalem.

And it cometh to pass, when the gates of Jerusalem have been dark before the sabbath, that I speak, and the doors are shut, and I say, that they do not open them till after the sabbath; and of my servants I have stationed at the gates; there doth not come in a burden on the sabbath-day.

And they lodge -- the merchants and sellers of all ware -- at the outside of Jerusalem, once or twice,

who had been removed from Jerusalem with the removal that was removed with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed --

Do good in Thy good pleasure with Zion, Thou dost build the walls of Jerusalem.

Because of Thy temple at Jerusalem, To Thee do kings bring a present.

A Psalm of Asaph. O God, nations have come into Thy inheritance, They have defiled Thy holy temple, They made Jerusalem become heaps,

They have shed their blood As water round about Jerusalem, And there is none burying.

To declare in Zion the name of Jehovah, And His praise in Jerusalem,

In the courts of the house of Jehovah, In thy midst, O Jerusalem, praise ye Jah!

Our feet have been standing in thy gates, O Jerusalem!

Jerusalem -- the builded one -- Is as a city that is joined to itself together.

Ask ye the peace of Jerusalem, At rest are those loving thee.

Jerusalem! mountains are round about her, And Jehovah is round about His people, From henceforth even unto the age.

Jehovah doth bless thee out of Zion, Look, then, on the good of Jerusalem, All the days of thy life,

Blessed is Jehovah from Zion, Inhabiting Jerusalem -- praise ye Jah!

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, my right hand forgetteth!

My tongue doth cleave to my palate, If I do not remember thee, If I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy.

Remember, Jehovah, for the sons of Edom, The day of Jerusalem, Those saying, 'Rase, rase to its foundation!'

Building Jerusalem is Jehovah, The driven away of Israel He gathereth.

Glorify, O Jerusalem, Jehovah, Praise thy God, O Zion.

Words of a preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

I, a preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

I -- I spake with my heart, saying, 'I, lo, I have magnified and added wisdom above every one who hath been before me at Jerusalem, and my heart hath seen abundantly wisdom and knowledge.

I got men-servants, and maid-servants, and sons of the house were to me; also, I had much substance -- herd and flock -- above all who had been before me in Jerusalem.

And I became great, and increased above every one who had been before me in Jerusalem; also, my wisdom stood with me.

Dark am I, and comely, daughters of Jerusalem, As tents of Kedar, as curtains of Solomon.

I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes or by the hinds of the field, Stir not up nor wake the love till she please!

I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes or by the hinds of the field, Stir not up nor wake the love till she please!

Its pillars he made of silver, Its bottom of gold, its seat of purple, Its midst lined with love, By the daughters of Jerusalem.

I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, If ye find my beloved -- What do ye tell him? that I am sick with love!

His mouth is sweetness -- and all of him desirable, This is my beloved, and this my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem!

Fair art thou, my friend, as Tirzah, Comely as Jerusalem, Awe-inspiring as bannered hosts.

I have adjured you, daughters of Jerusalem, How ye stir up, And how ye wake the love till she please!

The Visions of Isaiah son of Amoz, that he hath seen concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The thing that Isaiah son of Amoz hath seen concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

And gone have many peoples and said, 'Come, and we go up unto the mount of Jehovah, Unto the house of the God of Jacob, And He doth teach us of His ways, And we walk in His paths, For from Zion goeth forth a law, And a word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.

For, lo, the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, Is turning aside from Jerusalem, And from Judah, stay and staff, Every stay of bread, and every stay of water.

For stumbled hath Jerusalem, and Judah hath fallen, For their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, To provoke the eyes of His glory.

And it hath been, he who is left in Zion, And he who is remaining in Jerusalem, 'Holy' is said of him, Of every one who is written for life in Jerusalem.

If the Lord hath washed away The filth of daughters of Zion, And the blood of Jerusalem purgeth from her midst, By the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

And now, O inhabitant of Jerusalem, and man of Judah, Judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard.

And it cometh to pass in the days of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, gone up hath Rezin king of Aram, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, to Jerusalem, to battle against it, and he is not able to fight against it.

And He hath been for a sanctuary, And for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of falling, To the two houses of Israel, For a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

As my hand hath got to the kingdoms of a worthless thing, and their graven images, Greater than Jerusalem and than Samaria,

Do I not -- as I have done to Samaria, And to her worthless things, So do to Jerusalem and to her grievous things?

And it hath come to pass, When the Lord doth fulfil all His work In mount Zion and in Jerusalem, I see concerning the fruit of the greatness Of the heart of the king of Asshur. And concerning the glory of the height of his eyes.

Yet to-day in Nob to remain, Wave its hand doth the mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem.

And the houses of Jerusalem ye did number, And ye break down the houses to fence the wall.

And I have clothed him with thy coat, And with thy girdle I strengthen him, And thy garment I give into his hand, And he hath been for a father to the inhabitant of Jerusalem, And to the house of Judah.

And confounded hath been the moon, And ashamed hath been the sun, For reigned hath Jehovah of Hosts In mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, And over-against His elders -- honour!

And it hath come to pass, in that day, It is blown with a great trumpet, And come in have those perishing in the land of Asshur, And those cast out in the land of Egypt, And have bowed themselves to Jehovah, In the holy mount -- in Jerusalem!

Therefore, hear a word of Jehovah, ye men of scorning, Ruling this people that is in Jerusalem.

For the people in Zion dwell in Jerusalem, Weep thou not, weeping, Pitying, He pitieth thee at the voice of thy cry, When He heareth He answereth thee.

As birds flying, so doth Jehovah of Hosts Cover over Jerusalem, covering and delivering, Passing over, and causing to escape.'

And to his rock from fear he passeth on, And affrighted by the ensign have been his princes -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Who hath a light in Zion, And who hath a furnace in Jerusalem!

See Zion, the city of our meetings, Thine eyes see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, A tent not taken down, Not removed are its pins for ever, And none of its cords are broken.