Ezra 5-7

New King James Version

Restoration of the Temple Resumed^(A)

5 Then the prophet ^(B)Haggai and ^(C)Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. ²So ^(D)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of ^[a]Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and ^(E)the prophets of God were with them, helping them.

³At the same time ^(F)Tattenai the governor of the region beyond ^[b]the River and Shethar-Boznai and their companions came to them and spoke thus to them: ^(G)“Who has commanded you to build this ^[c]temple and finish this wall?” ⁴^(H)Then, accordingly, we told them the names of the men who were constructing this building. ⁵But ^(I)the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a ^(J)written answer was returned concerning this matter. ⁶This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai sent:

The governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, ^(K)and his companions, the Persians who were in the region beyond the River, to Darius the king.

⁷(They sent a letter to him, in which was written thus.)

To Darius the king:

All peace.

⁸Let it be known to the king that we went into the province of Judea, to the ^[d]temple of the great God, which is being built with ^[e]heavy stones, and timber is being laid in the walls; and this work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands.

⁹Then we asked those elders, and spoke thus to them: ^(L)“Who commanded you to build this temple and to finish these walls?” ¹⁰We also asked them their names to inform you, that we might write the names of the men who were chief among them.

¹¹And thus they returned us an answer, saying: “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the ^[f]temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built ^(M)and completed. ¹²But ^(N)because our fathers provoked the God of heaven to wrath, He gave them into the hand of ^(O)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and ^(P)carried the people away to Babylon. ¹³However, in the first year of ^(Q)Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to build this ^[g]house of God. ¹⁴Also, ^(R)the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple that was in Jerusalem and carried into the temple of Babylon—those King Cyrus took from the temple of Babylon, and they were given to ^(S)one named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor. ¹⁵And he said to him, ‘Take these articles; go, carry them to the temple site that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its former site.’ ¹⁶Then the same Sheshbazzar came and ^(T)laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem; but from that time even until now it has been under construction, and ^(U)it is not finished.”

¹⁷Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, ^(V)let a search be made in the king’s treasure house, which is there in Babylon, whether it is so that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send us his pleasure concerning this matter.

The Decree of Darius

6 Then King Darius issued a decree, ^(W)and a search was made in the ^[h]archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. ²And at ^[i]Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of ^(X)Media, a scroll was found, and in it a record was written thus:

³In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a ^(Y)decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, ⁴^(Z)with three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the ^(AA)expenses be paid from the king’s treasury. ⁵Also let ^(AB)the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God”—

⁶^(AC)Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your companions the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves far from there. ⁷Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.

⁸Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this ^[j]house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered. ⁹And whatever they need—young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the priests who are in Jerusalem—let it be given them day by day without fail, ¹⁰^(AD)that they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

¹¹Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it; ^(AE)and let his house be made a refuse heap because of this. ¹²And may the God who causes His ^(AF)name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this ^[k]house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently.

The Temple Completed and Dedicated

¹³Then Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did according to what King Darius had sent. ¹⁴^(AG)So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the ^[l]command of ^(AH)Cyrus, ^(AI)Darius, and ^(AJ)Artaxerxes king of Persia. ¹⁵Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. ¹⁶Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated ^(AK)the dedication of this ^[m]house of God with joy. ¹⁷And they ^(AL)offered sacrifices at the dedication of this house of God, one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸They assigned the priests to their ^(AM)divisions and the Levites to their ^(AN)divisions, over the service of God in Jerusalem, ^(AO)as it is written in the Book of Moses.

The Passover Celebrated^(AP)

¹⁹^[n]And the descendants of the captivity kept the Passover ^(AQ)on the fourteenth day of the first month. ²⁰For the priests and the Levites had ^(AR)purified themselves; all of them were ritually clean. And they ^(AS)slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the descendants of the captivity, for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. ²¹Then the children of Israel who had returned from the captivity ate together with all who had separated themselves from the ^(AT)filth^[o] of the nations of the land in order to seek the Lord God of Israel. ²²And they kept the ^(AU)Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the Lord made them joyful, and ^(AV)turned the heart ^(AW)of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

The Arrival of Ezra

7 Now after these things, in the reign of ^(AX)Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the ^(AY)son of Seraiah, ^(AZ)the son of Azariah, the son of ^(BA)Hilkiah, ²the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 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, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— ⁶this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was ^(BB)a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, ^(BC)according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him. ⁷^(BD)Some of the children of Israel, the priests, ^(BE)the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and ^(BF)the Nethinim came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. ⁸And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. ⁹On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, ^(BG)according to the good hand of his God upon him. ¹⁰For Ezra had prepared his heart to ^(BH)seek^[p] the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to ^(BI)teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

The Letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra

¹¹This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of His statutes to Israel:

¹²^[q]Artaxerxes, ^(BJ)king of kings,

To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven:

Perfect peace, ^(BK)and^[r] so forth.

¹³I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you. ¹⁴And whereas you are being sent ^[s]by the king and his ^(BL)seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, with regard to the Law of your God which is in your hand; ¹⁵and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, ^(BM)whose dwelling is in Jerusalem; ¹⁶^(BN)and whereas all the silver and gold that you may find in all the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, are to be ^(BO)freely offered for the ^[t]house of their God in Jerusalem— ¹⁷now therefore, be careful to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their ^(BP)grain offerings and their drink offerings, and ^(BQ)offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.

¹⁸And whatever seems good to you and your brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do it according to the will of your God. ¹⁹Also the articles that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. ²⁰And whatever more may be needed for the house of your God, which you may have occasion to provide, pay for it from the king’s treasury.

²¹And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the region beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, let it be done diligently, ²²up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribed limit. ²³Whatever ^[u]is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the ^[v]house of the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

²⁴Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tax, tribute, or custom on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God. ²⁵And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom, ^(BR)set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and ^(BS)teach those who do not know them. ²⁶Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it be death, or ^[w]banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.

²⁷^(BT)Blessed^[x] be the Lord God of our fathers, ^(BU)who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, ²⁸and ^(BV)has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes.