1 Esdras 5

Revised Standard Version

List of the Returning Exiles

5 After this the heads of fathers’ houses were chosen to go up, according to their tribes, with their wives and sons and daughters, and their menservants and maidservants, and their cattle. ² And Darius sent with them a thousand horsemen to take them back to Jerusalem in safety, with the music of drums and flutes; ³ and all their brethren were making merry. And he made them go up with them.

⁴ These are the names of the men who went up, according to their fathers’ houses in the tribes, over their groups: ⁵ the priests, the sons of Phin′ehas, son of Aaron; Jeshua the son of Jo′zadak, son of Serai′ah, and Jo′akim the son of Zerub′babel, son of She′altiel, of the house of David, of the lineage of Phares, of the tribe of Judah, ⁶ who spoke wise words before Darius the king of the Persians, in the second year of his reign, in the month of Nisan, the first month.

⁷ These are the men of Judea who came up out of their sojourn in captivity, whom Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon ⁸ and who returned to Jerusalem and the rest of Judea, each to his own town. They came with Zerub′babel and Jeshua, Nehemi′ah, Serai′ah, Resaiah, Big′vai,^[a] Mor′decai, Bilshan,^[b] Mispar,^[c] Reeliah, Rehum, and Ba′anah, their leaders.

⁹ The number of the men of the nation and their leaders: the sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two. The sons of Shephati′ah, four hundred and seventy-two. ¹⁰ The sons of Arah, seven hundred and fifty-six. ¹¹ The sons of Pahathmoab, of the sons of Jeshua and Jo′ab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve. ¹² The sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four. The sons of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five. The sons of Chorbe, seven hundred and five. The sons of Bani, six hundred and forty-eight. ¹³ The sons of Be′bai, six hundred and twenty-three. The sons of Azgad, one thousand three hundred and twenty-two. ¹⁴ The sons of Adoni′kam, six hundred and sixty-seven. The sons of Big′vai, two thousand and sixty-six. The sons of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four. ¹⁵ The sons of Ater, namely of Hezeki′ah, ninety-two. The sons of Kilan and Azetas, sixty-seven. The sons of Azaru, four hundred and thirty-two. ¹⁶ The sons of Annias, one hundred and one. The sons of Arom. The sons of Be′zai, three hundred and twenty-three. The sons of Jorah,^[d] one hundred and twelve. ¹⁷ The sons of Baiterus, three thousand and five. The sons of Bethlehem,^[e] one hundred and twenty-three. ¹⁸ The men of Netoph′ah, fifty-five. The men of An′athoth, one hundred and fifty-eight. The men of Bethasmoth, forty-two. ¹⁹ The men of Kir′iathar′im, twenty-five. The men of Chephi′rah and Be-er′oth, seven hundred and forty-three. ²⁰ The Chadiasans and Ammidians, four hundred and twenty-two. The men of Ramah^[f] and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one. ²¹ The men of Michmas,^[g] one hundred and twenty-two. The men of Bethel,^[h] fifty-two. The sons of Magbish,^[i] one hundred and fifty-six. ²² The sons of the other Elam^[j] and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five. The sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five. ²³ The sons of Sena′ah, three thousand three hundred and thirty.

²⁴ The priests: the sons of Jedai′ah the son of Jeshua, of the sons of Anasib, nine hundred and seventy-two. The sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two. ²⁵ The sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven. The sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.

²⁶ The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kad′miel and Bannas and Sudias, seventy-four. ²⁷ The temple singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and twenty-eight. ²⁸ The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hati′ta, the sons of Sho′bai, in all one hundred and thirty-nine.

²⁹ The temple servants: the sons of Ziha,^[k] the sons of Hasu′pha, the sons of Tabba′oth, the sons of Keros, the sons of Si′aha,^[l] the sons of Padon, the sons of Leba′nah, the sons of Hag′abah, ³⁰ the sons of Akkub, the sons of Uthai, the sons of Ketab, the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shamlai,^[m] the sons of Hana, the sons of Cathua, the sons of Gahar,^{[n] 31} The sons of Reaiah,^[o] the sons of Rezin,^[p] the sons of Neko′da,^[q] the sons of Chezib, the sons of Gazzam,^[r] the sons of Uzza, the sons of Pase′ah,^[s] the sons of Hasrah, the sons of Besai,^[t] the sons of Asnah, the sons of the Meunites,^[u] the sons of Nephi′sim, the sons of Bakbuk,^[v] the sons of Haku′pha, the sons of Asur, the sons of Pharakim, the sons of Bazluth, ³² the sons of Mehi′da, the sons of Cutha, the sons of Charea, the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sis′era,^[w] the sons of Temah, the sons of Nezi′ah, the sons of Hati′pha.

³³ The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Hasso′phereth,^[x] the sons of Peru′da, the sons of Ja′alah, the sons of Lozon, the sons of Giddel,^[y] the sons of Shephati′ah, ³⁴ the sons of Hattil,^[z] the sons of Po′chereth-hazzeba′im, the sons of Sarothie, the sons of Masiah, the sons of Gas, the sons of Addus, the sons of Subas, the sons of Apherra, the sons of Barodis, the sons of Shaphat, the sons of Ami.^[aa]

³⁵ All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants were three hundred and seventy-two.

³⁶ The following are those who came up from Telmelah^[ab] and Telharsha, under the leadership of Cherub, Addan, and Immer, ³⁷ though they could not prove by their fathers’ houses or lineage that they belonged to Israel: the sons of Delai′ah the son of Tobi′ah, the sons of Neko′da, six hundred and fifty-two.

³⁸ Of the priests the following had assumed the priesthood but were not found registered: the sons of Habai′ah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Jaddus who had married Agia, one of the daughters of Barzil′lai, and was called by his name. ³⁹ And when the genealogy of these men was sought in the register and was not found, they were excluded from serving as priests. ⁴⁰ And Nehemi′ah and Attharias^[ac] told them not to share in the holy things until a high priest should appear wearing Urim and Thummim.^[ad]

⁴¹ All those of Israel, twelve or more years of age, besides menservants and maidservants, were forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty; ⁴² their menservants and maidservants were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; there were two hundred and forty-five musicians and singers. ⁴³ There were four hundred and thirty-five camels, and seven thousand and thirty-six horses, two hundred and forty-five mules, and five thousand five hundred and twenty-five asses.

⁴⁴ Some of the heads of families, when they came to the temple of God which is in Jerusalem, vowed that they would erect the house on its site, to the best of their ability, ⁴⁵ and that they would give to the sacred treasury for the work a thousand minas of gold, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priests’ garments.

⁴⁶ The priests, the Levites, and some of the people^[ae] settled in Jerusalem and its vicinity; and the temple singers, the gatekeepers, and all Israel in their towns.

Worship Begins Again

⁴⁷ When the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were each in his own home, they gathered as one man in the square before the first gate toward the east. ⁴⁸ Then Jeshua the son of Jo′zadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerub′babel the son of She′altiel, with his kinsmen, took their places and prepared the altar of the God of Israel, ⁴⁹ to offer burnt offerings upon it, in accordance with the directions in the book of Moses the man of God. ⁵⁰ And some joined them from the other peoples of the land. And they erected the altar in its place, for all the peoples of the land were hostile to them and were stronger than they; and they offered sacrifices at the proper times and burnt offerings to the Lord morning and evening. ⁵¹ They kept the feast of booths, as it is commanded in the law, and offered the proper sacrifices every day, ⁵² and thereafter the continual offerings and sacrifices on sabbaths and at new moons and at all the consecrated feasts. ⁵³ And all who had made any vow to God began to offer sacrifices to God, from the new moon of the seventh month, though the temple of God was not yet built. ⁵⁴ And they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food and drink ⁵⁵ and carts^[af] to the Sido′nians and the Tyr′ians, to bring cedar logs from Leb′anon and convey them in rafts to the harbor of Joppa, according to the decree which they had in writing from Cyrus king of the Persians.

The Foundations of the Temple Laid

⁵⁶ In the second year after their coming to the temple of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerub′babel the son of She′altiel and Jeshua the son of Jo′zadak made a beginning, together with their brethren and the Levit′ical priests and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity; ⁵⁷ and they laid the foundation of the temple of God on the new moon of the second month in the second year after they came to Judea and Jerusalem. ⁵⁸ And they appointed the Levites who were twenty or more years of age to have charge of the work of the Lord. And Jeshua arose, and his sons and brethren and Kad′miel his brother and the sons of Jeshua Emadabun and the sons of Joda son of Iliadun, with their sons and brethren, all the Levites, as one man pressing forward the work on the house of God.

So the builders built the temple of the Lord. ⁵⁹ And the priests stood arrayed in their garments, with musical instruments and trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, ⁶⁰ praising the Lord and blessing him, according to the directions of David king of Israel; ⁶¹ and they sang hymns, giving thanks to the Lord, because his goodness and his glory are for ever upon all Israel. ⁶² And all the people sounded trumpets and shouted with a great shout, praising the Lord for the erection of the house of the Lord. ⁶³ Some of the Levit′ical priests and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the former house, came to the building of this one with outcries and loud weeping, ⁶⁴ while many came with trumpets and a joyful noise, ⁶⁵ so that the people could not hear the trumpets because of the weeping of the people.

For the multitude sounded the trumpets loudly, so that the sound was heard afar; ⁶⁶ and when the enemies of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin heard it, they came to find out what the sound of the trumpets meant. ⁶⁷ And they learned that those who had returned from captivity were building the temple for the Lord God of Israel. ⁶⁸ So they approached Zerub′babel and Jeshua and the heads of the fathers’ houses and said to them, “We will build with you. ⁶⁹ For we obey your Lord just as you do and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhad′don^[ag] king of the Assyrians, who brought us here.” ⁷⁰ But Zerub′babel and Jeshua and the heads of the fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building the house for the Lord our God, ⁷¹ for we alone will build it for the Lord of Israel, as Cyrus the king of the Persians has commanded us.” ⁷² But the peoples of the land pressed hard^[ah] upon those in Judea, cut off their supplies, and hindered their building; ⁷³ and by plots and demagoguery and uprisings they prevented the completion of the building as long as King Cyrus lived. And they were kept from building for two years, until the reign of Darius.