Thematic Bible: The second


Thematic Bible



that calls Cyrus, my shepherd, and all that I desire, he shall fulfil, by saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.

Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto the one which spoke, How long shall the vision of the daily sacrifice last and the prevarication of desolation that places both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days of evening and morning; then shall the sanctuary be justified.

Therefore thus hath the LORD said, I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies; my house shall be built in her, saith the LORD of the hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel shall lay the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of the hosts has sent me unto you. For who has despised the day of small beginnings? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. Those seven are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

and speak unto him, saying, Thus spoke the LORD of the hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. He shall build the temple of the LORD, and he shall bear the glory and shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. And Helem and Tobijah and Jedaiah and Hen the son of Zephaniah shall have crowns for a memorial in the temple of the LORD. read more.
And those that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of the hosts has sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass if ye will obediently hear the voice of the LORD our God.

Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, from the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of the hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men each one against his neighbour. But now I will not do unto the residue of this people as in the former days, said the LORD of the hosts. read more.
For the seed of peace shall remain; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her fruit, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all this. And it shall come to pass that as ye were a curse among the Gentiles, O house of Judah and house of Israel; so will I save you that ye might be a blessing; fear not, but let your hands be strong. For thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, As I thought to punish you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, said the LORD of the hosts, and I did not repent: so again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; do not fear.


Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the sons of the captivity built the temple unto the LORD God of Israel,

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

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

Thus speaketh the LORD of the hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not yet come, the time to build the house of the LORD.

And some of the heads of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which was at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place.

And by me is given the commandment regarding what ye shall do with the elders of these Jews, to build this house of God: that of the king's goods, of the tribute from the other side of the river, the expenses be given unto these men, that they not cease.

and all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people and of the priests, who offer willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem;


that calls Cyrus, my shepherd, and all that I desire, he shall fulfil, by saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

And some of the princes of the families gave unto the work. The Tirshatha gave for the treasure one thousand drams of gold, fifty basins, and five hundred and thirty priests' garments. And the princes of the families gave for the treasure of the work twenty thousand drams of gold and two thousand two hundred pounds of silver. And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drams of gold and two thousand pounds of silver and sixty-seven priests' garments.

And some of the heads of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which was at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place. They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work sixty-one thousand drams of gold and five thousand pounds of silver and one hundred priests' garments.

Then stood up Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings upon it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. And they set the altar upon its bases, for fear was upon them because of the peoples of those lands, and they offered burnt offerings upon it unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening. They kept also the feast of the tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the ordinance, each thing in its day, read more.
and in addition to this, the continual burnt offering and the new moons and all the sanctified feasts of the LORD and every spontaneous freewill offering unto the LORD. From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid. And they gave money unto the masons and to the carpenters; and food and drink and oil unto the Zidonians and to those of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the will of Cyrus, king of Persia, over them. And in the second year of their coming unto the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren, the priests and the Levites, and all those that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem, and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD. Then Jeshua stood with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren, the Levites. 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, according to the ordinance of David, king of Israel. And they sang, praising and giving thanks unto the LORD because he is good, for his mercy endures for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, praising the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and of the heads of the fathers, who were ancient men that had seen the first house, as the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice while many shouted aloud for joy: so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, rose up and began to build the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of God helping them. At the same time Tatnai, captain of this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and their companions came to them and said thus unto them, Who has commanded you to build this house and to make up this wall? Then we said unto them regarding this, These are the names of the men that make this building! read more.
For the eyes of their God were upon the elders of the Jews, and they could not cause them to cease until the matter came to Darius, and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter. The copy of the letter that Tatnai, captain of this side the river, and Shetharboznai, and his companions, the Apharsachites, which were on this side the river, sent unto Darius, the king: they sent a letter unto him, in which was written thus; Unto Darius, the king, all peace. Be it known unto the king that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is being built with stones of marble, and the timbers are laid in the walls, and this work is going fast and prospers in their hands. Then we asked the elders and said unto them thus, Who commanded you to build this house and to found these walls? We asked their names also, to notify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were at the head of them. And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are servants of the God of heaven and earth and rebuild the house that was built many years ago, which the great king of Israel built and founded. But after our fathers raged against the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried the people away into Babylon. But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same King Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God. And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and had brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus, the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered unto Sheshbazzar, whom he had made captain; and said unto him, Take these vessels, go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in his place. Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God which was in Jerusalem, and since that time until now it is being built, and it is not yet finished. Now, therefore, if it seems good to the king, let there be a search made in the king's treasure house, which is there in Babylon, whether it is so, that a decree was made by Cyrus, the king, to build this house of God in Jerusalem, and let the king send unto us his will concerning this matter.

In the first year of Cyrus, the king, the same Cyrus, the king, gave a commandment concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, that the house be built as a place for sacrifices to be offered, and let the walls thereof be covered; the height thereof sixty cubits, and the breadth thereof sixty cubits; the orders, three of stones of marble and one order of new timber and let the expenses be given out of the king's house. And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which was at Jerusalem and brought unto Babylon, be restored and go again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, to his place, and let them be placed in the house of God.

Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see her now? Is she not as nothing before your eyes?


Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, from the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of the hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.

Then the work of the house of God which was at Jerusalem ceased. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia.

Thus speaketh the LORD of the hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not yet come, the time to build the house of the LORD. Then came the word of the LORD by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying, Do you have time, all of you, to dwell in your panelled houses, and this house is deserted? read more.
Now therefore thus hath the LORD of the hosts said; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much and bring in little; ye eat, but ye are not filled; ye drink, but ye are not satisfied; ye clothe yourselves, but you are not warm; and he that is a hireling receives his wages in a bag with holes. Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain and bring wood and build the house; and I will place my will in her, and I will be glorified, said the LORD. Ye look for much and find little; and when ye lock it up at home, I shall blow upon it. Why? said the LORD of the hosts. Because my house is deserted, and ye run each one of you unto his own house.

And now, I pray you, consider in your heart from this day forth, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD:


Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra, the priest, the scribe, a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD and of his statutes over Israel. Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra, the priest, perfect scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and to Cheenet. By me is given commandment, that any of the people of Israel and of his priests and Levites in my realm, who desire of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. read more.
For thou art sent on behalf of the king and of his seven counsellors, to inquire of Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thy hand, and to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counsellors freely offer unto the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem, and all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people and of the priests, who offer willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem; Therefore, with diligence thou shalt buy with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their presents and their drink offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. And whatever shall seem good to thee and to thy brethren, to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do after the will of your God. The vessels also that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, thou shalt restore before the God of Jerusalem. And whatever else shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have need to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure house. And by me, Artaxerxes, the king, is given the commandment to all the treasurers who are on the other side of the river, that whatever Ezra, the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily, unto one hundred talents of silver and to one hundred measures of wheat and to one hundred baths of wine and to one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be speedily 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 unto you we cause it to be known, that regarding all of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, and ministers of the house of this God, no one shall be able to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them. And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thy hand, set as judges and governors, who govern all the people that are on the other side of the river, all such as know the laws of thy God, and teach those that do not know them. And whoever will not do the law of thy God and the law of the king, let them be judged speedily, 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 honour the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem, and has extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counsellors and before all the king's mighty princes. And I, comforted according to the hand of the LORD my God upon me, gathered together the principals of Israel to go up with me.

and weighed unto them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God, which the king and his counsellors and his princes and all those that were of Israel had offered. I weighed, therefore, unto their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver and silver vessels of one hundred talents and of gold one hundred talents; also twenty basins of gold, of a thousand drams, and two vessels of clean brass, precious as gold. read more.
And I said unto them, Ye are holiness unto the LORD; the vessels are holiness 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 princes of the priests and the Levites and of the princes of the fathers of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD. The priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and of the gold and of the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God. And we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth of the first month to go to 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. And we came to Jerusalem and abode there three days. Now on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were 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; by number and by weight of each one; and all the weight was written at that time.


And the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered according to the prophecy of Haggai, the prophet, and Zechariah, the son of Iddo. They built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel and according to the commandment of Cyrus and of Darius and of 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 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 sons of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the sons of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy, and they offered at the dedication of this house of God one hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and as the sin of all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. read more.
And they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses over the work of God, which is at Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.



Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the sons of the captivity built the temple unto the LORD God of Israel,

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

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

Thus speaketh the LORD of the hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not yet come, the time to build the house of the LORD.

And some of the heads of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which was at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in his place.

And by me is given the commandment regarding what ye shall do with the elders of these Jews, to build this house of God: that of the king's goods, of the tribute from the other side of the river, the expenses be given unto these men, that they not cease.

and all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people and of the priests, who offer willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem;