Ezra 3

New International Version

Rebuilding the Altar

3 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns,^(A) the people assembled^(B) together as one in Jerusalem. ²Then Joshua^(C) son of Jozadak^(D) and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel^(E) and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses^(F) the man of God. ³Despite their fear^(G) of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices.^(H) ⁴Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles^(I) with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. ⁵After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon^(J) sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals of the Lord,^(K) as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the Lord. ⁶On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid.

Rebuilding the Temple

⁷Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters,^(L) and gave food and drink and olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs^(M) by sea from Lebanon^(N) to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus^(O) king of Persia.

⁸In the second month^(P) of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel^(Q) son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak and the rest of the people (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work. They appointed Levites twenty^(R) years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the Lord. ⁹Joshua^(S) and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah^[a]) and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers—all Levites—joined together in supervising those working on the house of God.

¹⁰When the builders laid^(T) the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets,^(U) and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise^(V) the Lord, as prescribed by David^(W) king of Israel.^(X) ¹¹With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:

“He is good;
his love toward Israel endures forever.”^(Y)

And all the people gave a great shout^(Z) of praise to the Lord, because the foundation^(AA) of the house of the Lord was laid. ¹²But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple,^(AB) wept^(AC) aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. ¹³No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy^(AD) from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.

Footnotes

Ezra 3:9 Hebrew Yehudah, a variant of Hodaviah

Ezra 6-7

New International Version

The Decree of Darius

6 King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives^(A) stored in the treasury at Babylon. ²A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it:

Memorandum:

³In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:

Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid.^(B) It is to be sixty cubits^[a] high and sixty cubits wide, ⁴with three courses^(C) of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury.^(D) ⁵Also, the gold^(E) and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God.^(F)

⁶Now then, Tattenai,^(G) governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai^(H) and you other officials of that province, stay away from there. ⁷Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site.

⁸Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God:

Their expenses are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury,^(I) from the revenues^(J) of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. ⁹Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt offerings^(K) to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and olive oil, as requested by the priests in Jerusalem—must be given them daily without fail, ¹⁰so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.^(L)

¹¹Furthermore, I decree that if anyone defies this edict, a beam is to be pulled from their house and they are to be impaled^(M) on it. And for this crime their house is to be made a pile of rubble.^(N) ¹²May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there,^(O) overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem.

I Darius^(P) have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.

Completion and Dedication of the Temple

¹³Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates^(Q) carried it out with diligence. ¹⁴So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching^(R) of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus,^(S) Darius^(T) and Artaxerxes,^(U) kings of Persia. ¹⁵The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.^(V)

¹⁶Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication^(W) of the house of God with joy. ¹⁷For the dedication of this house of God they offered^(X) a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs and, as a sin offering^[b] for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸And they installed the priests in their divisions^(Y) and the Levites in their groups^(Z) for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.^(AA)

The Passover

¹⁹On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles celebrated the Passover.^(AB) ²⁰The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered^(AC) the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their relatives the priests and for themselves. ²¹So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves^(AD) from the unclean practices^(AE) of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the Lord,^(AF) the God of Israel. ²²For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(AG) because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude^(AH) of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.

Ezra Comes to Jerusalem

7 After these things, during the reign of Artaxerxes^(AI) king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah,^(AJ) the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,^(AK) ²the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok,^(AL) the son of Ahitub,^(AM) ³the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, ⁴the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, ⁵the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas,^(AN) the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— ⁶this Ezra^(AO) came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted^(AP) him everything he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.^(AQ) ⁷Some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers and temple servants, also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.^(AR)

⁸Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. ⁹He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him.^(AS) ¹⁰For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching^(AT) its decrees and laws in Israel.

King Artaxerxes’ Letter to Ezra

¹¹This is a copy of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law, a man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the Lord for Israel:

¹²Artaxerxes, king of kings,^(AU)

To Ezra the priest, teacher of the Law of the God of heaven:

Greetings.

¹³Now I decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including priests and Levites, who volunteer to go to Jerusalem with you, may go. ¹⁴You are sent by the king and his seven advisers^(AV) to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God, which is in your hand. ¹⁵Moreover, you are to take with you the silver and gold that the king and his advisers have freely given^(AW) to the God of Israel, whose dwelling^(AX) is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶together with all the silver and gold^(AY) you may obtain from the province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests for the temple of their God in Jerusalem.^(AZ) ¹⁷With this money be sure to buy bulls, rams and male lambs,^(BA) together with their grain offerings and drink offerings,^(BB) and sacrifice^(BC) them on the altar of the temple of your God in Jerusalem.

¹⁸You and your fellow Israelites may then do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, in accordance with the will of your God. ¹⁹Deliver^(BD) to the God of Jerusalem all the articles entrusted to you for worship in the temple of your God. ²⁰And anything else needed for the temple of your God that you are responsible to supply, you may provide from the royal treasury.^(BE)

²¹Now I, King Artaxerxes, decree that all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates are to provide with diligence whatever Ezra the priest, the teacher of the Law of the God of heaven, may ask of you— ²²up to a hundred talents^[c] of silver, a hundred cors^[d] of wheat, a hundred baths^[e] of wine, a hundred baths^[f] of olive oil, and salt without limit. ²³Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be done with diligence for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should his wrath fall on the realm of the king and of his sons?^(BF) ²⁴You are also to know that you have no authority to impose taxes, tribute or duty^(BG) on any of the priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers, temple servants or other workers at this house of God.^(BH)

²⁵And you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom of your God, which you possess, appoint^(BI) magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people of Trans-Euphrates—all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach^(BJ) any who do not know them. ²⁶Whoever does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king must surely be punished by death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.^[g]^(BK)

²⁷Praise be to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king’s heart^(BL) to bring honor^(BM) to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in this way ²⁸and who has extended his good favor^(BN) to me before the king and his advisers and all the king’s powerful officials. Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me,^(BO) I took courage and gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.