Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



They gave money to the stoneworkers and woodworkers. Meat and drink and oil were given to the people of Zidon and of Tyre, for the transport of cedar-trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, as Cyrus, king of Persia, had given them authority to do.

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia. He sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing. He said: Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: Jehovah, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may Jehovah his God be with him, and let him go up!

In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made an order: In connection with the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be constructed as the place where they make offerings. Let them brake ground for the foundation. Let it be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide,

But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of families in Israel said to them: You have no part with us in the building of a house for our God. We will do the work for Jehovah, the God of Israel, as Cyrus, king of Persia, has given us orders.

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, Cyrus the king gave an order for the building of this house of God. The gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple in Jerusalem, were put into the house of his god in Babylon. Cyrus the king took these from the house of his god in Babylon, and gave them to Sheshbazzar, whom he had made ruler.'


In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of all the inhabited earth.

So the men went out on the quick-running horses used on the king's business. They wasted no time and forced on by the king's order; and the order was given out in Shushan, the king's town.

When the order made by the king was made public a number of girls were placed in the care of Hegai in the king's house in Shushan. Esther was taken to the king's house and put in the care of Hegai, the keeper of the women.

I make a decree, that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble with respect before the God of Daniel. He is the living God, and steadfast forever! His kingdom will not be destroyed. His dominion will be even unto the end.

Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut into pieces. Their houses shall be made a dunghill. There is no other god that is able to deliver like this.

Then Darius the king gave an order and a search was made in the house of the records. This is where the things of value were stored in Babylon.

You, O king, made a decree, that every man that hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, zither, pipes, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image.

And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, now give orders to all keepers of the king's money across the river, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may have need of from you, is to be done with all care,

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, Cyrus the king gave an order for the building of this house of God.

The runners went out quickly with the king's order. A public statement was made in Shushan. The king and Haman took wine together, but the town of Shushan was troubled.

So the decree was delivered. The wise men were to be executed. They searched for Daniel and his companions to execute them.

He made proclamation and published it in Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not eat, nor drink water.


They gave money to the stoneworkers and woodworkers. Meat and drink and oil were given to the people of Zidon and of Tyre, for the transport of cedar-trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, as Cyrus, king of Persia, had given them authority to do.

In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made an order: In connection with the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be constructed as the place where they make offerings. Let them brake ground for the foundation. Let it be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide,

These are the words of Cyrus, king of Persia: 'Jehovah the God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has made me responsible for building a house for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. May your God be with you and let you go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah. There you are to build the house of Jehovah the God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem. If any of his people in exile need help to return, their neighbors should give them help. They are to provide them with silver and gold, supplies and pack animals, as well as offerings to present in the Temple of God in Jerusalem.'

King Cyrus gave back the bowls and cups that King Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple in Jerusalem and put in the temple of his god. And King Cyrus turned them over to Mithredath, chief of the royal treasury, who made an inventory of them for Sheshbazzar, the governor of Judah, Now this was their inventory: 30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes and 29 duplicates. read more.
There were also 30 gold bowls, 410 matching silver bowls and 1,000 other articles. All the articles of gold and silver numbered 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought all of them along with the exiles who traveled from Babylon to Jerusalem.

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, Cyrus the king gave an order for the building of this house of God. The gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple in Jerusalem, were put into the house of his god in Babylon. Cyrus the king took these from the house of his god in Babylon, and gave them to Sheshbazzar, whom he had made ruler.' He said to him: Go, take these vessels, and put them in the Temple in Jerusalem. Let the house of God be constructed again in its place.


They gave money to the stoneworkers and woodworkers. Meat and drink and oil were given to the people of Zidon and of Tyre, for the transport of cedar-trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, as Cyrus, king of Persia, had given them authority to do.

I say of Cyrus: 'He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please. He will say of Jerusalem, 'Let it be rebuilt,' and of the Temple, 'Let its foundations be laid.'

I summon a bird of prey from the east. I summon a man to fulfill my purpose from a far off land. What I have said I will bring about. What I have determined (purposed) I will do.

This is WHAT JEHOVAH SAYS ABOUT CYRUS, his anointed one: I have held him by his right hand so he could conquer the nations ahead of him; that he could strip kings of their power, and open doors ahead of him so that the gates would not be shut. I will go ahead of you, Cyrus. I will smooth out the rough places. I will break down the copper doors and cut through the iron bars. I will give you treasures from dark places and hidden stockpiles. You will know that I, Jehovah the God of Israel, have called you by name. read more.
For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen one, I have called you by name. I have given you a title of honor, although you do not know me.

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia. He sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing. He said: Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: Jehovah, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may Jehovah his God be with him, and let him go up!

In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made an order: In connection with the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be constructed as the place where they make offerings. Let them brake ground for the foundation. Let it be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide,

I have stirred Cyrus to action to fulfill my purpose and put things right. I will straighten out every road that he travels. He will rebuild my city, Jerusalem, and set my captive people free. No one has hired him or bribed him to do this. Jehovah of Hosts has spoken.

Gather together, all of you, and listen. What idol has revealed such things? Jehovah loves Cyrus. He will carry out Jehovah's plan against Babylon. He will use his strength against the Babylonians. I alone have spoken. I have called him. I will bring him here and he will succeed.

But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of families in Israel said to them: You have no part with us in the building of a house for our God. We will do the work for Jehovah, the God of Israel, as Cyrus, king of Persia, has given us orders.

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, Cyrus the king gave an order for the building of this house of God. The gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple in Jerusalem, were put into the house of his god in Babylon. Cyrus the king took these from the house of his god in Babylon, and gave them to Sheshbazzar, whom he had made ruler.'

If it seems good to the king, let search be made in the king's storehouse at Babylon. See if it is true that an order was given by Cyrus the king for the building of this house of God at Jerusalem. Let the king send us word of his pleasure in connection with this business.

Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow. He pursues them and moves on unscathed. He goes by a path his feet have not traveled before.


I say of Cyrus: 'He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please. He will say of Jerusalem, 'Let it be rebuilt,' and of the Temple, 'Let its foundations be laid.'

Some of the heads of families gave money for the work. The Tirshatha gave to the store a thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, and five hundred and thirty priests' robes. Some of the heads of families gave to the store for the work twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand, two hundred pounds of silver. That which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand pounds of silver, and sixty-seven priests' robes.

And some of the heads of families, when they came to the house of Jehovah which is in Jerusalem, gave freely of their wealth for the building up of the house of God in its place: Every one, as he was able, gave for the work sixty-one thousand drachmas of gold, five thousand pounds of silver and a hundred priests' robes.

Then Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, with his brothers, got up and built the altar of the God of Israel for burned offerings. This was according to the Law of Moses, the man of God. The returning exiles were afraid of the people who were living in the land. Regardless of that, they rebuilt the altar where it had stood before. Then they began once again to burn on it the regular morning and evening sacrifices. They celebrated the Festival of Booths according to what is written. Each day they offered the sacrifices required for that day. read more.
They also offered the regular sacrifices to be burned whole and those to be offered at the New Moon Festival and at all the other Festivals of Jehovah, as well as all the offerings that were given to Jehovah voluntarily. The people had not yet started to rebuild the Temple. Yet they began on the first day of the seventh month to burn sacrifices to Jehovah. They gave money to the stoneworkers and woodworkers. Meat and drink and oil were given to the people of Zidon and of Tyre, for the transport of cedar-trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, as Cyrus, king of Persia, had given them authority to do. The second year and third month of their coming to the house of God in Jerusalem Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, took charge of the construction. Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come from the land where they were prisoners to Jerusalem: and the Levites, of twenty years or older, were responsible for overseeing the work of the house of Jehovah. Then Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, the sons of Hodaviah, together took up the work of overseeing the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brothers, the Levites. When the builders laid the foundation of the Temple of Jehovah, the priests, dressed in their robes, took their places with horns, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with brass instruments, to give praise to Jehovah in the way ordered by David, king of Israel. They praised Jehovah and thanked him, saying: He is good; his loving kindness to Israel is for all generations. All the people gave a joyful cry. They praised Jehovah because the foundation of Jehovah's house was in place. Some of the priests, Levites, heads of families and old men who had seen the first house were present. When the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes they were overcome with weeping; and a number were crying out with joy: So that in the ears of the people the cry of joy was mixed with the sound of weeping. The cries of the people were loud and came to the ears of those who were a long way off.

Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, went to work building the house of God at Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, helping them. At the same time, Tattenai, ruler of the land across the river, and Shethar-bozenai, and their men, came to them and said, Who gave you orders to go on building this house and this wall? Then they said these words to them: What are the names of the men who are at work on this building? read more.
The eye of their God was on the chiefs of the Jews, and they did not make them give up working till the question had been put before Darius and an answer came by letter about it. This is a copy of the letter Tattenai, the ruler of the land across the river, and Shethar-bozenai and his friends the Apharsachites, from across the river, sent to Darius the king. They sent him a letter saying: To Darius the king, all peace: This is to give the king word that we went to the land of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is made of large stones and has its walls supported with wood. The work is going on with diligence and they are making rapid progress. Then we asked the men responsible: 'Who gave you authority for the building of this house and these walls?' We requested their names, so that we might send you word, and give you the names of the men in charge. Their answer was: 'We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are building the house which was put up in times long past and was designed and made complete by a great king of Israel. But when our fathers moved the God of heaven to wrath, he gave them up into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the Chaldaean. He sent destruction on this house and took the people away to Babylon. In the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, Cyrus the king gave an order for the building of this house of God. The gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple in Jerusalem, were put into the house of his god in Babylon. Cyrus the king took these from the house of his god in Babylon, and gave them to Sheshbazzar, whom he had made ruler.' He said to him: Go, take these vessels, and put them in the Temple in Jerusalem. Let the house of God be constructed again in its place. Then this same Sheshbazzar came and put the house of God in Jerusalem on its foundations. From that time until now the building has been going on, but it is still not complete. If it seems good to the king, let search be made in the king's storehouse at Babylon. See if it is true that an order was given by Cyrus the king for the building of this house of God at Jerusalem. Let the king send us word of his pleasure in connection with this business.

In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made an order: In connection with the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be constructed as the place where they make offerings. Let them brake ground for the foundation. Let it be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide, with three lines of large stones and one line of new wood supports. Let the necessary money be given out of the king's storehouse. And let the gold and silver vessels from the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple at Jerusalem to Babylon, be given back and taken again to the Temple at Jerusalem, every one in its place, and put them in the house of God.

Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it nothing in your eyes?'


At the same time, Tattenai, ruler of the land across the river, and Shethar-bozenai, and their men, came to them and said, Who gave you orders to go on building this house and this wall? Then they said these words to them: What are the names of the men who are at work on this building? The eye of their God was on the chiefs of the Jews, and they did not make them give up working till the question had been put before Darius and an answer came by letter about it. read more.
This is a copy of the letter Tattenai, the ruler of the land across the river, and Shethar-bozenai and his friends the Apharsachites, from across the river, sent to Darius the king. They sent him a letter saying: To Darius the king, all peace: This is to give the king word that we went to the land of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is made of large stones and has its walls supported with wood. The work is going on with diligence and they are making rapid progress. Then we asked the men responsible: 'Who gave you authority for the building of this house and these walls?' We requested their names, so that we might send you word, and give you the names of the men in charge. Their answer was: 'We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are building the house which was put up in times long past and was designed and made complete by a great king of Israel. But when our fathers moved the God of heaven to wrath, he gave them up into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the Chaldaean. He sent destruction on this house and took the people away to Babylon. In the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, Cyrus the king gave an order for the building of this house of God. The gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple in Jerusalem, were put into the house of his god in Babylon. Cyrus the king took these from the house of his god in Babylon, and gave them to Sheshbazzar, whom he had made ruler.' He said to him: Go, take these vessels, and put them in the Temple in Jerusalem. Let the house of God be constructed again in its place. Then this same Sheshbazzar came and put the house of God in Jerusalem on its foundations. From that time until now the building has been going on, but it is still not complete. If it seems good to the king, let search be made in the king's storehouse at Babylon. See if it is true that an order was given by Cyrus the king for the building of this house of God at Jerusalem. Let the king send us word of his pleasure in connection with this business.


In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of all the inhabited earth.

So the men went out on the quick-running horses used on the king's business. They wasted no time and forced on by the king's order; and the order was given out in Shushan, the king's town.

When the order made by the king was made public a number of girls were placed in the care of Hegai in the king's house in Shushan. Esther was taken to the king's house and put in the care of Hegai, the keeper of the women.

I make a decree, that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble with respect before the God of Daniel. He is the living God, and steadfast forever! His kingdom will not be destroyed. His dominion will be even unto the end.

Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut into pieces. Their houses shall be made a dunghill. There is no other god that is able to deliver like this.

Then Darius the king gave an order and a search was made in the house of the records. This is where the things of value were stored in Babylon.

You, O king, made a decree, that every man that hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, zither, pipes, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image.

And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, now give orders to all keepers of the king's money across the river, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may have need of from you, is to be done with all care,

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, Cyrus the king gave an order for the building of this house of God.

The runners went out quickly with the king's order. A public statement was made in Shushan. The king and Haman took wine together, but the town of Shushan was troubled.

So the decree was delivered. The wise men were to be executed. They searched for Daniel and his companions to execute them.

He made proclamation and published it in Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not eat, nor drink water.