Ezra 3-5

21st Century King James Version

3 And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.

² Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, and built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.

³ And they set the altar upon his bases, for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries; and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord, even burnt offerings morning and evening.

⁴ They kept also the Feast of Tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the custom, as the duty of every day required;

⁵ and afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons and of all the set feasts of the Lord that were consecrated, and of every one who willingly offered a freewill offering unto the Lord.

⁶ From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings unto the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid.

⁷ They gave money also unto the masons and to the carpenters, and meat and drink and oil unto those of Sidon and to those of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea at Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

⁸ Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren, the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and they appointed the Levites from twenty years old and upward, to press forward the work of the house of the Lord.

⁹ Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah together, to supervise the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren the Levites.

¹⁰ And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals to praise the Lord, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel.

¹¹ And they sang together by course, praising and giving thanks unto the Lord: “Because He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever 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 chief of the fathers who were elderly men who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy,

¹³ so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people; for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

4 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building the temple unto the Lord God of Israel,

² then they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as ye do; and we have done sacrifice unto Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up hither.”

³ But Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto them, “Ye have nothing to do with us in building a house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.”

⁴ Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,

⁵ and hired 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 Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

⁷ And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of their companions wrote unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue.

⁸ Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king of this sort:

⁹ Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites,

¹⁰ and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnapper brought over and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest who are on this side of the river and at such a time:

¹¹ (This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king.) “Thy servants, the men on this side of the river, and at such a time.

¹² Be it known unto the king that the Jews who came up from thee to us have come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations.

¹³ Be it known now unto the king that, if this city be built and the walls set up again, then they will not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt bring damage to the revenue of the kings.

¹⁴ Now because we have maintenance from the king’s palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king’s dishonor, therefore have we sent and certified this to the king,

¹⁵ that search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers. So shalt thou find in the book of the records and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same in old times, for which cause this city was destroyed.

¹⁶ We certify to the king that if this city be built again, and the walls thereof set up, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side of the river.”

¹⁷ Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest beyond the river: “Peace, and at such a time.

¹⁸ The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.

¹⁹ And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city in old times hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein.

²⁰ There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom were paid unto them.

²¹ Give ye now command to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not built until another command shall be given from me.

²² Take heed now that ye fail not to do this. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?”

²³ Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them cease by force and power.

²⁴ Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

5 Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.

² Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of God helping them.

³ At the same time came to them Tattenai, governor on this side of the river, and Shetharboznai and their companions, and said thus unto them: “Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall?”

⁴ Then said we unto them in this manner: “What are the names of the men who make this building?”

⁵ But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease until the matter came to Darius, and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter.

⁶ The copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor on this side of the river, and Shetharboznai, and his companions the Apharsachites, who were on this side of the river, sent unto Darius the king —

⁷ they sent a letter unto him, wherein was written thus: “Unto Darius the king, all peace.

⁸ Be it known unto the king that we went into the province of Judea to the house of the great God, which is built with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on and prospereth in their hands.

⁹ Then asked we those elders, and said unto them thus: ‘Who commanded you to build this house, and to make up these walls?’

¹⁰ We asked their names also, to inform thee, that we might write the names of the men who were the chief of them.

¹¹ And thus they returned us answer, saying, ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was built these many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and set up.

¹² But after our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried the people away into Babylon.

¹³ But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, the same King Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.

¹⁴ And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered unto one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor.

¹⁵ And he said unto him, “Take these vessels; go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in his place.”

¹⁶ Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem. And since that time even until now hath it been in building, and yet it is not finished.’

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