Old/New Testament

Permission to return to Jerusalem

1 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia’s rule, to fulfill the Lord’s word spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Persia’s King Cyrus. The king issued a proclamation throughout his kingdom (it was also in writing) that stated:

Preparing to return

⁵ Then the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred up—got ready to go up and build God’s house in Jerusalem. ⁶ All their neighbors assisted them with silver equipment, with gold, with goods, livestock, and valuable gifts, in addition to all that was freely offered. ⁷ King Cyrus brought out the equipment of the Lord’s house—those items that Nebuchadnezzar brought from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. ⁸ Persia’s King Cyrus handed them over to Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. ⁹ This was the count: thirty gold dishes, one thousand silver dishes, twenty-nine knives,^{[b] 10} thirty gold bowls, four hundred ten larger^[c] silver bowls, and one thousand other objects. ¹¹ The total of the gold and silver objects numbered five thousand four hundred. Sheshbazzar brought up all of these when the exiles went up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.

List of the returnees

2 These were the people of the province who went up from there—from among those captive exiles whom Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar had deported to Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, all to their own towns. ² They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.

The number of the people of Israel

³⁶ The priests

⁴¹ The singers

⁴² The family of the gatekeepers

⁴³ The temple servants

The family of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, ⁴⁴ Keros, Siaha, Padon, ⁴⁵ Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub, ⁴⁶ Hagab, Shamlai, Hanan, ⁴⁷ Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah, ⁴⁸ Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, ⁴⁹ Uzza, Paseah, Besai, ⁵⁰ Asnah, Meunim, Nephisim, ⁵¹ Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, ⁵² Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, ⁵³ Barkos, Sisera, Temah, ⁵⁴ Neziah, and Hatipha

⁵⁵ The family of Solomon’s servants

Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda, ⁵⁶ Jaalah, Darkon, Giddel, ⁵⁷ Shephatiah, Hattil, Pochereth-hazzebaim, and Ami.

⁵⁸ All of the temple servants and the family of Solomon’s servants 392

Exclusions

⁵⁹ The following came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, but they were unable to demonstrate that their family or their descent was from Israel: ⁶⁰ the family of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda, 652

⁶¹ and of the family of the priests: the family of Habaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai (who had married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name).

⁶² They looked for their entries in the genealogical records, but they were not found there, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. ⁶³ The governor ordered them not to eat of the most holy food until a priest arose who could consult Urim and Thummim.

Total

⁶⁴ The whole assembly together totaled 42,360, ⁶⁵ not including their 7,337 male and female servants; they also had 200 male and female singers, ⁶⁶ 736 horses, 245 mules, ⁶⁷ 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

Arrival in Jerusalem

⁶⁸ When they arrived at the Lord’s house in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families brought spontaneous gifts for the rebuilding of God’s house on its site. ⁶⁹ According to their means, they gave to the building fund 61,000 drachmen of gold, 5,000 manehs of silver, and 100 priestly robes.

⁷⁰ The priests, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants settled in their own towns, and all Israel in their towns.

²³ When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and his sandals, and divided them into four shares, one for each soldier. His shirt was seamless, woven as one piece from the top to the bottom. ²⁴ They said to each other, “Let’s not tear it. Let’s cast lots to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill the scripture,

²⁵ Jesus’ mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood near the cross. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

²⁸ After this, knowing that everything was already completed, in order to fulfill the scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹ A jar full of sour wine was nearby, so the soldiers soaked a sponge in it, placed it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. ³⁰ When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed.” Bowing his head, he gave up his life.

Witness at the cross

³¹ It was the Preparation Day and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies to remain on the cross on the Sabbath, especially since that Sabbath was an important day. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of those crucified broken and the bodies taken down. ³² Therefore, the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men who were crucified with Jesus. ³³ When they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead so they didn’t break his legs. ³⁴ However, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. ³⁵ The one who saw this has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he speaks the truth, and he has testified so that you also can believe. ³⁶ These things happened to fulfill the scripture, They won’t break any of his bones.^{[b] 37} And another scripture says, They will look at him whom they have pierced.^[c]

Jesus’ body is buried

³⁸ After this Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate if he could take away the body of Jesus. Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one because he feared the Jewish authorities. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and took the body away. ³⁹ Nicodemus, the one who at first had come to Jesus at night, was there too. He brought a mixture of myrrh and aloe, nearly seventy-five pounds in all.^{[d] 40} Following Jewish burial customs, they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the spices, in linen cloths. ⁴¹ There was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. ⁴² Because it was the Jewish Preparation Day and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus in it.