In the first year of Cyrus the king, the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be built, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let its foundations be strongly laid; its height threescore cubits, and its breadth threescore cubits;

With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house:

And also let the golden and silver articles 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 its place, and place them in the house of God.

Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in its place.

Moreover I make a decree of what you shall do for the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, without delay expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered.

And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the requirement of the priests who are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail:

That they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.

Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be impaled thereon; and let his house be made a pile of rubble because of this.

And the God that has caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put their hand to alter it and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done diligently.

Then Tattenai, governor on this side of the river, Shethar-boznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily.

And the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy,

And offered at the dedication of this house of God a hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their divisions, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses.

And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.

For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were purified, and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.

And the children of Israel, who had come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the nations of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat,

And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

The son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,

The son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,

The son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,

The son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest:

This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.

And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

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

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

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances.

Now this is the copy of the letter that king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel.

Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and so forth.

I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, who are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you.

For as you are sent by the king, and by his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your hand;

And to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered unto the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem,

And all the silver and gold that you can find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and of the priests, offered willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem:

That you may buy promptly with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meal offerings and their drink offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.

And whatsoever shall seem good to you, and to your brethren, to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do according to the will of your God.

The articles also that are given you for the service of the house of your God, those you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem.

And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of your God, which you shall have occasion to provide, provide it out of the king's treasure house.

And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done promptly,

Unto a hundred talents of silver, and to a hundred cors of wheat, and to a hundred baths of wine, and to a hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.

Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

Also we inform you, that concerning any of the priests and Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them.

And you, Ezra, after the wisdom of your God, that is in your hand, set magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach them that know them not.

And whosoever will not do the law of your God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.

Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem:

And has extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty princes. And I was strengthened as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel leading men to go up with me.

These are now the heads of their fathers' houses, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king.

Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush.

Of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh; Zechariah: and with him were registered by genealogy of the men a hundred and fifty.

Of the sons of Pahath-moab; Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred men.

Of the sons of Shecaniah; the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred men.

Of the sons also of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty men.

And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy men.

And of the sons of Shephatiah; Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him fourscore men.

Of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen men.

And of the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and threescore men.

And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight men.

And of the sons of Azgad; Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten men.

And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them threescore men.

Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zaccur, and with them seventy men.

And I gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.

Then I sent for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, leading men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding.

And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God.

And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;

And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;

Also of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim: all of them were registered by name.

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our possessions.

For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.

Then I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,

And weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the articles, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king, and his counselors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered:

I even weighed unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver articles worth a hundred talents, and of gold a hundred talents;

Also twenty bowls of gold, worth a thousand darics; and two vessels of fine polished bronze, as precious as gold.

And I said unto them, You are holy unto the LORD; the articles are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers.

Watch, and keep them, until you weigh them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites, and heads of the fathers' houses of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD.

So the priests and the Levites took the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the articles, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God.

Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.

Now on the fourth day were the silver and the gold and the articles weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites;

With the number and weight of everything: and all the weight was recorded at that time.

Also the children of those that had been carried away, who had come out of the captivity, offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve male goats for a sin offering: all this was a burnt offering unto the LORD.

And they delivered the king's orders unto the king's satraps, and to the governors on this side the river: and they aided the people, and the house of God.

Now when these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, in regard to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

For they have taken of their daughters as wives for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy race has mixed itself with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass.

And when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down appalled.

Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice.

Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day.

For we were slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to rebuild the house of our God, and to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

Which you have commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which you go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.

Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth forever: that you may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.

Should we again break your commandments, and join in marriage with the people of these abominations? would not you be angry with us till you had consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?

O LORD God of Israel, you are righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before you in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before you because of this.

Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept bitterly.

And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have married foreign wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

Arise; for this matter belongs unto you: we also will be with you: be of good courage, and do it.

Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came there, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.

And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem;

And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the order of the leaders and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and he himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.

Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and because of the heavy rain.

And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, You have transgressed, and have taken foreign wives, to increase the trespass of Israel.