Ezr 3-6 | ESV | STEP | When the seventh month came , and the children of Israel were in the towns , the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem .

1 ^aWhen the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and ^bZerubbabel the son of ^cShealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, ^das it is written in the Law of Moses the ^eman of God. 3 They set the altar in its place, ^ffor fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and ^gthey offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. 4 ^hAnd they kept the Feast of Booths, ⁱas it is written, ^jand offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required, 5 and after that the regular burnt ^kofferings, the offerings at the new moon ^land at all the appointed feasts of the Lord, and the offerings of everyone who made a freewill offering to the Lord. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid. 7 So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, ^mand food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians ⁿto bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, ^oaccording to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

Rebuilding the Temple

8 Now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, ^pZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and ^qJeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They ^rappointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to ^ssupervise the work of the house of the Lord. 9 And ^tJeshua with his sons and his brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together ^usupervised the workmen in the house of God, along with the ^vsons of Henadad and the Levites, their sons and brothers.

10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, ^waccording to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,

^x“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”
And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, ^yold men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.

Ezra 4

Adversaries Oppose the Rebuilding

1 Now when ^zthe adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever ^aasince the days of ^abEsarhaddon king of Assyria ^acwho brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, ^ad“You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, ^aeas King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

4 Then ^afthe people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build 5 and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

6 And in the reign of ^agAhasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

The Letter to King Artaxerxes

7 In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and ^ahMithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written ^aiin Aramaic and translated. ^{▼▼Hebrew written in Aramaic and translated in Aramaic, indicating that 4:8–6:18 is in Aramaic; another interpretation is The letter was written in the Aramaic script and set forth in the Aramaic language} 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows: 9 Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the ^akjudges, the ^algovernors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the ^amElamites, 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble ^anOsnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River. 11 (This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now 12 be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are ^aofinishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13 Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay ^aptribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. 14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, 15 in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste. 16 We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”

The King Orders the Work to Cease

17 The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now 18 the letter that you sent to us has been ^aqplainly read before me. 19 And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. 20 And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, ^arwho ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom ^astribute, custom, and toll were paid. 21 Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me. 22 And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?”

23 Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease. 24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Ezra 5

Rebuilding Begins Anew

1 Now the prophets, ^atHaggai and ^auZechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 ^avThen Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and ^awJeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were ^axwith them, supporting them.

3 At the same time ^ayTattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: ^az“Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?” 4 They ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac; Aramaic We} also asked them this: “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” 5 But ^bbthe eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.

Tattenai’s Letter to King Darius

6 This is a copy of the letter that ^bcTattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the ^bdgovernors who were in the province Beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. 7 They sent him a report, in which was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace. 8 Be it known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. 9 Then we asked those elders and spoke to them thus: ^be‘Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?’ 10 We also asked them their names, for your information, that we might write down the names of their leaders. ^{▼▼Aramaic of the men at their heads} 11 And this was their reply to us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, ^bgwhich a great king of Israel built and ^bhfinished. 12 ^biBut because our fathers had angered the God of heaven, he ^bjgave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia. 13 ^bkHowever, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt. 14 ^blAnd the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, these Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was ^bmSheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; 15 and he said to him, “Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.” 16 Then this ^bnSheshbazzar came and ^bolaid the foundations of the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been in building, and it is ^bpnot yet finished.’ 17 Therefore, if it seems good to the king, ^bqlet search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon, to see whether a decree was issued by Cyrus the king for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. And let the king send us his pleasure in this matter.”

Ezra 6

The Decree of Darius

1 Then Darius the king made a decree, and ^brsearch was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored. 2 And in Ecbatana, the citadel that is ^bsin the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record. 3 In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits ^{▼▼A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters} and its breadth sixty cubits, 4 ^buwith three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. 5 And also ^bvlet the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place. You shall put them in the house of God.”

6 “Now therefore, ^bwTattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, ^bxand your ^{▼▼Aramaic their} associates the governors who are in the province Beyond the River, keep away. 7 Let the work on this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. 8 Moreover, ^bzI make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River. 9 And whatever is needed—bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests at Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail, 10 that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven ^caand pray for the life of the king and his sons. 11 Also I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and ^cbhis house shall be made a dunghill. 12 May the God ^ccwho has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I Darius make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.”

The Temple Finished and Dedicated

13 Then, according to the word sent by Darius the king, ^cdTattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered. 14 ^ceAnd the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and ^cfby decree of Cyrus and ^cgDarius and ^chArtaxerxes king of Persia; 15 and this house was finished on the third day of the ^cimonth of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

16 And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the ^cjdedication of this house of God with joy. 17 They offered at the dedication of this house of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel ^ck12 male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 And they set the priests ^clin their divisions and the Levites ^cmin their divisions, for the service of God at Jerusalem, ^cnas it is written in the Book of Moses.

Passover Celebrated

19 ^coOn the fourteenth day of the first month, the returned exiles kept the Passover. 20 ^cpFor the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were clean. ^cqSo they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves. 21 It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and ^cralso by every one who had joined them and separated himself ^csfrom the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the Lord, the God of Israel. 22 And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread ^ctseven days with joy, for the Lord had made them joyful ^cuand had turned the heart of ^cvthe king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.