Ezra 1-2
New Living Translation
Cyrus Allows the Exiles to Return
1 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia,[a] the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah.[b] He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom:
2 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:
“The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Any of you who are his people may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you! 4 Wherever this Jewish remnant is found, let their neighbors contribute toward their expenses by giving them silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock, as well as a voluntary offering for the Temple of God in Jerusalem.”
5 Then God stirred the hearts of the priests and Levites and the leaders of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. 6 And all their neighbors assisted by giving them articles of silver and gold, supplies for the journey, and livestock. They gave them many valuable gifts in addition to all the voluntary offerings.
7 King Cyrus himself brought out the articles that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his own gods. 8 Cyrus directed Mithredath, the treasurer of Persia, to count these items and present them to Sheshbazzar, the leader of the exiles returning to Judah.[c] 9 This is a list of the items that were returned:
| gold basins | 30 |
| silver basins | 1,000 |
| silver incense burners[d] | 29 |
| 10 gold bowls | 30 |
| silver bowls | 410 |
| other items | 1,000 |
11 In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and silver. Sheshbazzar brought all of these along when the exiles went from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Exiles Who Returned with Zerubbabel
2 Here is the list of the Jewish exiles of the provinces who returned from their captivity. King Nebuchadnezzar had deported them to Babylon, but now they returned to Jerusalem and the other towns in Judah where they originally lived. 2 Their leaders were Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.
This is the number of the men of Israel who returned from exile:
| 3 The family of Parosh | 2,172 |
| 4 The family of Shephatiah | 372 |
| 5 The family of Arah | 775 |
| 6 The family of Pahath-moab (descendants of Jeshua and Joab) | 2,812 |
| 7 The family of Elam | 1,254 |
| 8 The family of Zattu | 945 |
| 9 The family of Zaccai | 760 |
| 10 The family of Bani | 642 |
| 11 The family of Bebai | 623 |
| 12 The family of Azgad | 1,222 |
| 13 The family of Adonikam | 666 |
| 14 The family of Bigvai | 2,056 |
| 15 The family of Adin | 454 |
| 16 The family of Ater (descendants of Hezekiah) | 98 |
| 17 The family of Bezai | 323 |
| 18 The family of Jorah | 112 |
| 19 The family of Hashum | 223 |
| 20 The family of Gibbar | 95 |
| 21 The people of Bethlehem | 123 |
| 22 The people of Netophah | 56 |
| 23 The people of Anathoth | 128 |
| 24 The people of Beth-azmaveth[e] | 42 |
| 25 The people of Kiriath-jearim,[f] Kephirah, and Beeroth | 743 |
| 26 The people of Ramah and Geba | 621 |
| 27 The people of Micmash | 122 |
| 28 The people of Bethel and Ai | 223 |
| 29 The citizens of Nebo | 52 |
| 30 The citizens of Magbish | 156 |
| 31 The citizens of West Elam[g] | 1,254 |
| 32 The citizens of Harim | 320 |
| 33 The citizens of Lod, Hadid, and Ono | 725 |
| 34 The citizens of Jericho | 345 |
| 35 The citizens of Senaah | 3,630 |
36 These are the priests who returned from exile:
| The family of Jedaiah (through the line of Jeshua) | 973 |
| 37 The family of Immer | 1,052 |
| 38 The family of Pashhur | 1,247 |
| 39 The family of Harim | 1,017 |
40 These are the Levites who returned from exile:
| The families of Jeshua and Kadmiel (descendants of Hodaviah) | 74 |
| 41 The singers of the family of Asaph | 128 |
| 42 The gatekeepers of the families of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai | 139 |
43 The descendants of the following Temple servants returned from exile:
Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,
44 Keros, Siaha, Padon,
45 Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub,
46 Hagab, Shalmai,[h] Hanan,
47 Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah,
48 Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam,
49 Uzza, Paseah, Besai,
50 Asnah, Meunim, Nephusim,
51 Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur,
52 Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha,
53 Barkos, Sisera, Temah,
54 Neziah, and Hatipha.
55 The descendants of these servants of King Solomon returned from exile:
Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda,
56 Jaalah, Darkon, Giddel,
57 Shephatiah, Hattil, Pokereth-hazzebaim, and Ami.
58 In all, the Temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants numbered 392.
59 Another group returned at this time from the towns of Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Kerub, Addan, and Immer. However, they could not prove that they or their families were descendants of Israel. 60 This group included the families of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda—a total of 652 people.
61 Three families of priests—Hobaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai—also returned. (This Barzillai had married a woman who was a descendant of Barzillai of Gilead, and he had taken her family name.) 62 They searched for their names in the genealogical records, but they were not found, so they were disqualified from serving as priests. 63 The governor told them not to eat the priests’ share of food from the sacrifices until a priest could consult the Lord about the matter by using the Urim and Thummim—the sacred lots.
64 So a total of 42,360 people returned to Judah, 65 in addition to 7,337 servants and 200 singers, both men and women. 66 They took with them 736 horses, 245 mules, 67 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.
68 When they arrived at the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders made voluntary offerings toward the rebuilding of God’s Temple on its original site, 69 and each leader gave as much as he could. The total of their gifts came to 61,000 gold coins,[i] 6,250 pounds[j] of silver, and 100 robes for the priests.
70 So the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, the Temple servants, and some of the common people settled in villages near Jerusalem. The rest of the people returned to their own towns throughout Israel.
Footnotes
- 1:1a The first year of Cyrus’s reign over Babylon was 538 B.c.
- 1:1b See Jer 25:11-12; 29:10.
- 1:8 Hebrew Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
- 1:9 The meaning of this Hebrew word is uncertain.
- 2:24 As in parallel text at Neh 7:28; Hebrew reads Azmaveth.
- 2:25 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Greek version (see also Neh 7:29); Hebrew reads Kiriath-arim.
- 2:31 Or of the other Elam.
- 2:46 As in an alternate reading of the Masoretic Text (see also Neh 7:48); the other alternate reads Shamlai.
- 2:69a Hebrew 61,000 darics of gold, about 1,100 pounds or 500 kilograms in weight.
- 2:69b Hebrew 5,000 minas [3,000 kilograms].
John 19:23-42
New Living Translation
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice[a] for it.” This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.”[b] So that is what they did.
25 Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” 27 And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.
The Death of Jesus
28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”[c] 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31 It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was Passover week). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. 33 But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. 34 One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. 35 (This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe.[d]) 36 These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, “Not one of his bones will be broken,”[e] 37 and “They will look on the one they pierced.”[f]
The Burial of Jesus
38 Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. 39 With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds[g] of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. 40 Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. 41 The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. 42 And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover[h] and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
Read full chapterHoly Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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