In response, the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and descendants of Levi, and all those who had been prompted by God, prepared to travel to rebuild the Temple of the LORD, which was in Jerusalem.

King Cyrus also brought out from storage the service instruments from the Temple of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his gods.

The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,

All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants totaled 392.

When they arrived at the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families contributed toward building the Temple of God on its former site.

So the priests, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants settled in their [own] cities, and all Israel [gradually settled] into 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.

Two years and two months after arriving at the site of the Temple of God in Jerusalem, Shealtiel's son Zerubbabel, Jozadak's son Jeshua, the relatives of the priests and descendants of Levi, and everyone else who had left the Babylonian captivity for Jerusalem appointed descendants of Levi who were 20 years old and older to oversee the work of the LORD's Temple.

At this time Jeshua, along with his children and relatives, and Kadmiel, with his children and the descendants of Judah, joined the family of Henadad with his children and relatives, and the descendants of Levi in overseeing the work on the Temple of God.

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, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.

And they sang in unison to one another, giving thanks to the LORD: "He is good, and his gracious love to Israel endures forever." And all the people shouted out loudly in praise to the LORD when the foundation of the LORD's Temple was laid.

But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first house (temple), wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy,

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

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel replied, "You have no part in our plans for building a temple to our God, because we alone will build to the LORD, the God of Israel, in accordance with the decree issued by King Cyrus, king of Persia."

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:

As a result, work on the Temple of God in Jerusalem ceased and did not begin again until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.

So Shealtiel's son Zerubbabel and Jozadak's son Jeshua restarted construction of the Temple of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were there 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?”

This is to inform the king that we traveled to the Temple of the great God in the Judean province, which is being built with large stones and reinforced with wooden beams in its walls. The work proceeds diligently and is in capable 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.

"However, during King Cyrus' first year that same King Cyrus of Babylon issued a decree to reconstruct this Temple of God.

And the vessels 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 vessels, go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be builded in his place.

"Then this very same Sheshbazzar arrived and laid the foundations for the Temple of God in Jerusalem. Since that time until now the Temple has been under construction and is not yet completed."

Accordingly, with your approval we suggest that a search be conducted within the king's treasury at Babylon to verify whether or not King Cyrus ever issued such a decree to reconstruct this Temple of God in Jerusalem. Then please notify us concerning the king's pleasure in this matter.

DATE: First year of Cyrus the King FROM: King Cyrus SUBJECT: The Temple of God in Jerusalem

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 vessels 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 his place, and place them in the house of God.

Leave the work on this Temple of God alone! Let the Jewish governor and the Jewish leaders build this Temple of God on its site.

Furthermore, I hereby decree what you are to do for the Jewish leaders who are building this Temple of God: you are to pay the expenses of these men out of the king's assets from taxes collected beyond the River so that they are not hindered.

And may the God who causes his Name to rest there destroy any king or people who might attempt to destroy this Temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be carried out quickly.

The Temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar during the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

The Israelis the priests, the descendants of Levi, and the other related descendants who had returned from captivity celebrated with joy at the dedication of the Temple of God.

At the dedication offering of the Temple of God, they presented 100 bulls, 200 rams, and 400 lambs, along with a sin offering of twelve male goats for the entire nation of Israel according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

Then they observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, because the LORD had made them glad, turning the heart of the king of Assyria toward them and strengthening them for their work on the Temple of God, the God of Israel.

Some of the sons of Israel, with some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants also went up [from Babylon] to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

And to take with you the silver and gold freely offered by the king and his wise men to the God of Israel, whose Temple is in Jerusalem,

together with all of the silver and gold that you can raise in the province of Babylon, plus the freewill offerings given by the people and the priests, contributed for the Temple of their God, which is in Jerusalem.

Accordingly, you are to exercise due diligence to utilize this money to purchase bulls, rams, lambs, grain offerings, and drink offerings, and to offer them upon the altar of the Temple of your God, which is in Jerusalem.

Furthermore, you are to deliver to the God of Jerusalem the vessels for the service of the Temple of your God that have been given to you.

Furthermore, provide from the royal treasury whatever else may be needed for the Temple of your God.

Whatever is commanded by the God of Heaven is to be done with all due diligence for the Temple of the God of Heaven, or wrath will come against the king's realm and his sons.

We also inform you that it is not authorized to impose tax, tribute, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants or other servants of this house of God.

Blessed be the LORD God of our ancestors, who placed this decree into the king's heart to beautify the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem

And I sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers, the temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring us servants (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 divided between them the silver, the gold, the vessels, and the offering for the Temple of our God which the king had offered, along with his advisors, his senior officials, and all of Israel assembled there.

Guard and protect them until you disperse them to the chief priests, the descendants of Levi, and to the family leaders of Israel at Jerusalem in the chambers of the Temple of the LORD."

So the priests and descendants of Levi took possession of the silver, the gold, and the vessels in order to bring 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 delivered copies of the king's orders to the king's officers, and governors on this side of the Euphrates River. The orders were in support of the people and God's Temple.

Even though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. Instead, he has extended gracious love to us in the presence of the kings of Persia, to grant us revival, to set up the Temple of our God, to repair its damage, and to give us a protective wall for Judah and Jerusalem.

Now while Ezra was praying and confessing in tears, having prostrated himself to the ground before the Temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelis men, women, and children gathered around him. Indeed, the people were crying bitterly.

Ezra arose in front of the Temple of God to visit the apartment of Eliashib's son Jehohanan. While there, he neither ate nor drank because he was in mourning over the sins of those who had returned from exile.

Less than three days later, all of the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered together on the twentieth day of the ninth month. Everyone sat in the plaza of the Temple of God, trembling because of everything that was happening, and also because it was raining heavily.

and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to construct beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, and for the city wall and for the house which I will occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

The temple servants were living in Ophel [the hill south of the temple], and they made repairs as far as the front of the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower.

After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, carried out repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, in front of the Inspection Gate and as far as the upper room of the corner.

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 I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.

The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,

All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants, totaled 392.

So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, along with all Israel, lived in their cities.

And when the seventh month came, the sons (descendants) of Israel (Jacob) were in their cities.

Then the people went out and found branches to make tents for themselves on the roofs of their houses, in their courtyards, and in the courts of God's Temple, in the plaza near the Water Gate, and in the plaza near the Gate of Ephraim.

Now the rest of the people—the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all those who had knowledge and understanding—

We also obligated ourselves to contribute annually a third of a shekel for services relating to the Temple of our God

for the bread set out on the table, for the daily grain offering, for the continual burnt offering, for the Sabbath offerings, for the New Moon festivals, for the appointed festivals, for the holy offerings, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the service of the Temple of our God.

We the priests, the descendants of Levi, and the people cast lots to determine when to bring the wood offering into the Temple of our God, just as our ancestors' families were appointed annually to maintain the altar fire of the LORD our God, as recorded in the Law.

We also cast lots to determine when to bring the first fruits of our land and the annual first fruits of all fruit of every tree to the Temple of the LORD,

as well as the firstborn of our sons and our cattle, as recorded in the Law, along with the firstlings of our herds and our flocks, to present to the Temple of our God for the priests that minister in the Temple of our God.

We also determined to present the first fruits of our ground grain, our offerings, the fruit of all kinds of trees, wines, and oil to the priests, to the chambers of the Temple of our God, and the tithes of our land to the descendants of Levi, so those descendants of Levi could collect the tithes in all the towns where we worked:

"And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, will be with the descendants of Levi when the descendants of Levi receive tithes, and the descendants of Levi will bring the tithe of the tithes into the store rooms of the Temple of our God.

For the Israelis and the descendants of Levi will bring the grain offering, the wine, and the oil into the chambers where the vessels of the sanctuary are, along with the ministering priests, the porters, and the singers. We will not neglect the Temple of our God."

These are the heads of the provinces who lived in Jerusalem, but in the cities of Judah everyone lived on his property in their cities—the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon’s servants.

Joiarib's son Jedaiah, Jachin, Hilkiah's son Seraiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the administrator of the Temple of God.

and their relatives who did the work at the temple: 822. Adaiah son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah

Shemaiah son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni, and Shabbethai and Jozabad, from the leaders of the descendants of Levi who oversaw the exterior work of the Temple of God,

But the temple servants were living in Ophel; Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of the temple servants.

The overseer of the descendants of Levi at Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica. Singers from the descendants of Asaph oversaw the work of the Temple of God.

Then the two choirs assembled in the Temple of God, as did I, along with half of the officials who accompanied me,

Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, who supervised the store rooms of the Temple of our God and who was related to Tobiah,

prepared for [Tobiah] a large chamber where they had formerly put the grain offering, the frankincense, the [temple] objects, tithes of grain, wine, and oil commanded for the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the offerings of the priests.

to return to Jerusalem. I learned of the evil thing that Eliashib had done for Tobiah in furnishing him with a room in the courts of the Temple of God.

I ordered them to purify the chambers, and then they brought back the vessels from the Temple of God, along with the grain offerings and incense.

So I confronted the officials and asked, "Why is the Temple of God neglected?" Then I gathered them together and put them back in their places.

Remember me, my God, concerning this, and do not erase my faithful deeds that I have undertaken for the Temple of my God, and for its services.

They die in their youth; and their life will end among temple prostitutes.

But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

May he send you help from his temple; from Zion may he give you support!

Now I am sure that the Lord will deliver his chosen king; he will intervene for him from his holy heavenly temple, and display his mighty ability to deliver.

Truly, goodness and gracious love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will remain in the LORD's Temple forever. A Davidic Psalm.

O Lord, I love the temple where you live, the place where your splendor is revealed.

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.

Hear my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help, when I lift my hands toward your holy temple!

The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.

Yahweh will give strength to his people. Yahweh will bless his people with peace. A Psalm. A Song for the Dedication of the Temple. By David.