Ezra 6-8

Contemporary English Version

King Cyrus' Order Is Rediscovered

6 King Darius ordered someone to go through the old records kept in Babylonia. ²Finally, a scroll^[a] was found in Ecbatana, the capital of Media Province, and it said:

This official record will show ³that in the first year Cyrus was king, he gave orders to rebuild God's temple in Jerusalem, so that sacrifices and offerings could be presented there.^[b] It is to be built 27 meters high and 27 meters wide, ⁴with one^[c] row of wooden beams for each three rows of large stones. The royal treasury will pay for everything. ⁵Then the gold and silver things that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple and brought to Babylonia are to be returned to their proper places.

King Darius Orders the Work To Continue

⁶King Darius sent this message:

Governor Tattenai of Western Province and Shethar Bozenai, you and your advisors must stay away from the temple. ⁷Let the Jewish governor and leaders rebuild it where it stood before. And stop slowing them down!

⁸Starting at once, I am ordering you to help the leaders by paying their expenses from the tax money collected in Western Province. ⁹And don't fail to let the priests in Jerusalem have whatever they need each day so they can offer sacrifices to the God of heaven. Give them young bulls, rams, sheep, as well as wheat, salt, wine, and olive oil. ¹⁰I want them to be able to offer pleasing sacrifices to God and to pray for me and my family.

¹¹If any of you don't obey this order, a wooden beam will be taken from your house and sharpened on one end. Then it will be driven through your body,^[d] and your house will be torn down and turned into a garbage dump. ¹²I ask the God who is worshiped in Jerusalem to destroy any king or nation who tries either to change what I have said or to tear down his temple. I, Darius, give these orders, and I expect them to be followed carefully.

The Temple Is Dedicated

¹³Governor Tattenai, Shethar Bozenai, and their advisors carefully obeyed King Darius. ¹⁴^(A) With great success the Jewish leaders continued working on the temple, while Haggai and Zechariah encouraged them by their preaching. And so, the temple was completed at the command of the God of Israel and by the orders of kings Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes of Persia.^[e] ¹⁵On the third day of the month of Adar^[f] in the sixth year of the rule of Darius,^[g] the temple was finished.

¹⁶The people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and everyone else who had returned from exile were happy and celebrated as they dedicated God's temple. ¹⁷One hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs were offered as sacrifices at the dedication. Also twelve goats were sacrificed as sin offerings for the twelve tribes of Israel. ¹⁸Then the priests and Levites were assigned their duties in God's temple in Jerusalem, according to the instructions Moses had written.^[h]

The Passover

¹⁹^(B) Everyone who had returned from exile celebrated Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.^[i] ²⁰The priests and Levites had gone through a ceremony to make themselves acceptable to lead in worship. Then some of them killed Passover lambs for those who had returned, including the other priests and themselves.

²¹The sacrifices were eaten by the Israelites who had returned and by the neighboring people who had given up the sinful customs of other nations in order to worship the Lord God of Israel. ²²For seven days they celebrated the Festival of Thin Bread. Everyone was happy because the Lord God of Israel had made sure that the king of Assyria^[j] would be kind to them and help them build the temple.

Ezra Comes to Jerusalem

7 ^1-6Much later, when Artaxerxes^[k] was king of Persia, Ezra came to Jerusalem from Babylonia. Ezra was the son of Seraiah and the grandson of Azariah. His other ancestors were Hilkiah, Shallum, Zadok, Ahitub, Amariah, Azariah, Meraioth, Zerahiah, Uzzi, Bukki, Abishua, Phinehas, Eleazar, and Aaron, the high priest.

Ezra was an expert in the Law that the Lord God of Israel had given to Moses, and the Lord made sure that the king gave Ezra everything he asked for.

⁷Other Jews, including priests, Levites, musicians, the temple guards, and servants, came to Jerusalem with Ezra. This happened during the seventh year that Artaxerxes^[l] was king.

^8-9God helped Ezra, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month^[m] of that seventh year, after leaving Babylonia on the first day of the first month.^[n] ¹⁰Ezra had spent his entire life studying and obeying the Law of the Lord and teaching it to others.

Artaxerxes Gives a Letter to Ezra

¹¹Ezra was a priest and an expert in the laws and commands that the Lord had given to Israel. One day King Artaxerxes gave Ezra a letter which said:

¹²^[o] Greetings from the great King Artaxerxes to Ezra the priest and expert in the teachings of the God of heaven.

^13-14Any of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom may go with you to Jerusalem if they want to. My seven advisors and I agree that you may go to Jerusalem and Judah to find out if^[p] the laws of your God are being obeyed.

¹⁵When you go, take the silver and gold that I and my advisors are freely giving to the God of Israel, whose temple is in Jerusalem. ¹⁶Take the silver and gold that you collect from everywhere in Babylonia. Also take the gifts that your own people and priests have so willingly contributed for the temple of your God in Jerusalem.

¹⁷Use the money carefully to buy the best bulls, rams, lambs, grain, and wine. Then sacrifice them on the altar at God's temple in Jerusalem. ¹⁸If any silver or gold is left, you and your people may use it for whatever pleases your God. ¹⁹Give your God the other articles that have been contributed for use in his temple. ²⁰If you need to get anything else for the temple, you may have the money you need from the royal treasury.

²¹Ezra, you are a priest and an expert in the laws of the God of heaven, and I order all treasurers in Western Province to do their very best to help you. ²²They will be allowed to give as much as 3.4 tons of silver, 10 tons of wheat, 2,000 liters of wine, 2,000 liters of olive oil, and all the salt you need.

²³They must provide whatever the God of heaven demands for his temple, so that he won't be angry with me and with the kings who rule after me. ²⁴We want you to know that no priests, Levites, musicians, guards, temple servants, or any other temple workers will have to pay any kind of taxes.

²⁵Ezra, use the wisdom God has given you and choose officials and leaders to govern the people of Western Province. These leaders should know God's laws and have them taught to anyone who doesn't know them. ²⁶Everyone who fails to obey God's Law or the king's law will be punished without pity. They will either be executed or put in prison or forced to leave their country, or have all they own taken away.

Ezra Praises God

²⁷Because King Artaxerxes was so kind, Ezra said:

Praise the Lord God of our ancestors! He made sure that the king honored the Lord's temple in Jerusalem. ²⁸God has told the king, his advisors, and his powerful officials to treat me with kindness. The Lord God has helped me, and I have been able to bring many Jewish leaders back to Jerusalem.

The Families Who Came Back with Ezra

8 Artaxerxes was king of Persia when I^[q] led the following chiefs of the family groups from Babylonia to Jerusalem:

^2-14Gershom of the Phinehas family;

Daniel of the Ithamar family;

Hattush son of Shecaniah of the David family;

Zechariah and 150 other men of the Parosh family, who had family records;

Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah with 200 men of the Pahath Moab family;

Shecaniah son of Jahaziel with 300 men of the Zattu family;^[r]

Ebed son of Jonathan with 50 men of the Adin family;

Jeshaiah son of Athaliah with 70 men of the Elam family;

Zebadiah son of Michael with 80 men of the Shephatiah family;

Obadiah son of Jehiel with 218 men of the Joab family;

Shelomith son of Josiphiah with 160 men of the Bani family;^[s]

Zechariah son of Bebai with 28 men of the Bebai family;

Johanan son of Hakkatan with 110 men of the Azgad family;

Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah who returned sometime later with 60 men of the Adonikam family;

Uthai and Zaccur with 70 men of the Bigvai family.

Ezra Finds Levites for the Temple

¹⁵I^[t] brought everyone together by the river^[u] that flows to the town of Ahava^[v] where we camped for three days. Not one Levite could be found among the people and priests. ¹⁶So I sent for the leaders Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam. I also sent for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were very wise counselors. ¹⁷Then I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia,^[w] and I told them to ask him and his temple workers to send people to serve in God's temple.

¹⁸God was kind to us and caused them to send a skillful man named Sherebiah, who was a Levite from the family of Mahli. Eighteen of his relatives came with him. ¹⁹We were also sent Hashabiah and Jeshaiah from the family of Merari along with 20 of their relatives. ²⁰In addition, 220 others came to help the Levites in the temple. The ancestors of these workers had been chosen years ago by King David^[x] and his officials, and they were all listed by name.

Ezra Asks the People To Go without Eating and To Pray

²¹Beside the Ahava River,^[y] I^[z] asked the people to go without eating^[aa] and to pray. We humbled ourselves and asked God to bring us and our children safely to Jerusalem with all of our possessions. ²²I was ashamed to ask the king to send soldiers and cavalry to protect us against enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king that our God takes care of everyone who truly worships him, but that he gets very angry and punishes anyone who refuses to obey. ²³So we went without food and asked God himself to protect us, and he answered our prayers.

The Gifts for the Temple

²⁴I^[ab] chose twelve of the leading priests—Sherebiah, Hashabiah and ten of their relatives. ^25-27Then I weighed the gifts that had been given for God's temple, and I divided them among the twelve priests I had chosen. There were gifts of silver and gold, as well as the articles that the king, his advisors and officials, and the people of Israel had contributed. In all there were: 22 tons of silver; 100 silver articles weighing 70 kilograms; 3.4 tons of gold; 20 gold bowls weighing over 8 kilograms; and 2 polished bronze articles as valuable as gold.

²⁸I said to the priests:

You belong to the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and these things also belong to him. The silver and gold were willingly given as gifts to the Lord. ²⁹Be sure to guard them and keep them safe until you reach Jerusalem. Then weigh them inside God's temple in the presence of the chief priests, the Levites, and the heads of the Israelite families.

³⁰The priests and Levites then took charge of the gifts that had been weighed, so they could take them to the temple of our God in Jerusalem.

The Return to Jerusalem

³¹On the twelfth day of the first month,^[ac] we left the Ahava River^[ad] and started for Jerusalem. Our God watched over us, and as we traveled along, he kept our enemies from ambushing us.

³²After arriving in Jerusalem, we rested for three days. ³³Then on the fourth day we went to God's temple, where the silver, the gold, and the other things were weighed and given to the priest Meremoth son of Uriah. With him were Eleazar son of Phinehas and the two Levites, Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. ³⁴Everything was counted, weighed, and recorded.

³⁵Those who had returned from exile offered sacrifices on the altar to the God of Israel. Twelve bulls were offered for all Israel. Ninety-six rams and 77 lambs^[ae] were offered on the altar, and 12 goats were sacrificed for the sins of the people. ³⁶Some of those who had returned took the king's orders to the governors and officials in Western Province. Then the officials did what they could for the people and for the temple of God.

Footnotes

6.2 scroll: A roll of paper or special leather used for writing on.
6.3 so that … there: One possible meaning for the difficult Aramaic text.
6.4 one: One possible meaning for the difficult Aramaic text.
6.11 driven through your body: A well-known punishment in the ancient Near East.
6.14 Artaxerxes of Persia: See the note at 4.7.
6.15 Adar: The twelfth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-February to about mid-March.
6.15 sixth year … Darius: 515 b.c.
6.18 Ezra 4.8—6.18 was written in Aramaic, instead of Hebrew like most of the Old Testament.
6.19 the first month: Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-March to mid-April.
6.22 king of Assyria: Meaning the king of Persia, because Assyria was now part of the Persian Empire.
7.1-6 Artaxerxes: Either Artaxerxes I (ruled from 465 to 425 b.c.) or Artaxerxes II (ruled from 405–358 b.c.).
7.7 seventh year … Artaxerxes: 458 b.c. if this is Artaxerxes I; 398 b.c., if this is Artaxerxes II (see the note at 7.1-6).
7.8,9 fifth month: Ab, the fifth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-July to mid-August.
7.8,9 first month: See the note at 6.19.
7.12-26: Ezra 7.12-26 was written in Aramaic, instead of Hebrew like most of the Old Testament.
7.13,14 find out if: Or “make sure that.”
8.1 I: Ezra.
8.2-14 of the Zattu family: One ancient translation; these words are not in the Hebrew text, but see 2.2-20, where Zattu is mentioned.
8.2-14 of the Bani family: One ancient translation; these words are not in the Hebrew text, but see 2.2-20.
8.15 I: See the note at 8.1.
8.15 river: Or “canal.”
8.15 town of Ahava: A town (or place) in Babylonia, but the exact location is unknown.
8.17 Casiphia: The location is not known.
8.20 King David: See the note at 3.10.
8.21 River: See the note at 8.15.
8.21 I: See the note at 8.1.
8.21 to go without eating: The Jews often went without eating as a way of worshiping God. This is sometimes called “fasting.”
8.24 I: See the note at 8.1.
8.31 first month: See the note at 6.19.
8.31 River: See the note at 8.15.
8.35 77 lambs: Or “72 lambs.”