Old/New Testament
The Altar is Rebuilt
3 When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites[a] were living[b] in their[c] towns, the people assembled[d] in[e] Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak[f] and his priestly colleagues[g] and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his colleagues[h] started to build[i] the altar of the God of Israel so they could offer burnt offerings on it as required by[j] the law of Moses the man of God. 3 They established the altar on its foundations, even though they were in terror of the local peoples,[k] and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and the evening offerings. 4 They observed the Feast of Shelters[l] as required[m] and offered the proper number of[n] daily burnt offerings according to the requirement for each day. 5 Afterward they offered the continual burnt offerings and those for the new moons and those for all the holy assemblies of the Lord and all those that were being voluntarily offered to the Lord. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. However, the Lord’s temple was not at that time established.[o]
Preparations for Rebuilding the Temple
7 So they provided money[p] for the masons and carpenters, and food, beverages, and olive oil for the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar timber from Lebanon to the seaport[q] at Joppa, in accord with the edict of King Cyrus of Persia. 8 In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work,[r] along with the rest of their associates,[s] the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed[t] the Levites who were at least twenty years old[u] to take charge of the work on the Lord’s temple. 9 So Jeshua appointed both his sons and his relatives,[v] Kadmiel and his sons (the sons of Yehudah[w]), to take charge of the workers in the temple of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their relatives[x] the Levites. 10 When the builders established the Lord’s temple, the priests, ceremonially attired and with their clarions,[y] and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with their cymbals, stood to praise the Lord according to the instructions left by[z] King David of Israel.[aa] 11 With antiphonal response they sang,[ab] praising and glorifying the Lord:
“For he is good;
his loyal love toward Israel is forever.”
All the people gave a loud[ac] shout as they praised the Lord when the temple of the Lord was established. 12 Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders[ad]—older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established[ae]—were weeping loudly,[af] and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout. 13 People were unable to tell the difference between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly[ag] that the sound was heard a long way off.
Opposition to the Building Efforts
4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin learned that the former exiles[ah] were building a temple for the Lord God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders[ai] and said to them, “Let us help you build,[aj] for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him[ak] from the time[al] of King Esarhaddon[am] of Assyria, who brought us here.”[an] 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, “You have no right[ao] to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the Lord God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.” 4 Then the local people[ap] began to discourage[aq] the people of Judah and to dishearten them from building. 5 They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans, throughout the time[ar] of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius[as] of Persia.[at]
Official Complaints Are Lodged Against the Jews
6 [au] At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus[av] they filed an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 And during the reign[aw] of Artaxerxes, Bishlam,[ax] Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues[ay] wrote to King Artaxerxes[az] of Persia. This letter[ba] was first written in Aramaic but then translated.
[What follows is in Aramaic][bb]
8 Rehum the commander[bc] and Shimshai the scribe[bd] wrote a letter concerning[be] Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows: 9 From[bf] Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues—the judges, the rulers, the officials, the secretaries, the Erechites, the Babylonians, the people of Susa (that is,[bg] the Elamites), 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal[bh] deported and settled in the cities[bi] of Samaria and other places in Trans-Euphrates.[bj] 11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent to him.)
“To King Artaxerxes,[bk] from your servants in[bl] Trans-Euphrates: 12 Now[bm] let the king be aware that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and odious city.[bn] They are completing its walls and repairing its foundations. 13 Let the king also be aware that if this city is built and its walls are completed, no more tax, custom, or toll will be paid, and the royal treasury[bo] will suffer loss. 14 In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king,[bp] and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage,[bq] we are sending the king this information[br] 15 so that he may initiate a search of the records[bs] of his predecessors[bt] and discover in those records[bu] that this city is rebellious[bv] and injurious to both kings and provinces, producing internal revolts[bw] from long ago.[bx] It is for this very reason that this city was destroyed. 16 We therefore are informing the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, you will not retain control[by] of this portion of Trans-Euphrates.”
17 The king sent the following response:
“To Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their colleagues who live in Samaria and other parts of Trans-Euphrates: Greetings![bz] 18 The letter you sent to us has been translated and read in my presence. 19 So I gave orders,[ca] and it was determined[cb] that this city from long ago has been engaging in insurrection against kings. It has continually engaged in[cc] rebellion and revolt. 20 Powerful kings have been over Jerusalem who ruled throughout the entire Trans-Euphrates[cd] and who were the beneficiaries of[ce] tribute, custom, and toll. 21 Now give orders that these men cease their work and that this city not be rebuilt until such time as I so instruct.[cf] 22 Exercise appropriate caution so that there is no negligence in this matter. Why should danger increase to the point that the king sustains damage?”
23 Then, as soon as the copy of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read in the presence of Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their colleagues, they proceeded promptly to the Jews in Jerusalem[cg] and stopped them with threat of armed force.[ch]
24 So the work on the temple of God in Jerusalem came to a halt. It remained halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.[ci]
Tattenai Appeals to Darius
5 Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son[cj] of Iddo[ck] prophesied concerning the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began[cl] to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
3 At that time Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues came to them and asked, “Who gave you authority[cm] to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?”[cn] 4 They[co] also asked them, “What are the names of the men who are building this edifice?” 5 But God was watching over[cp] the elders of Judah, and they were not stopped[cq] until a report could be dispatched[cr] to Darius and a letter could be sent back concerning this.
6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and his colleagues (who were the officials of Trans-Euphrates) sent to King Darius. 7 The report they sent to him was written as follows:[cs]
“To King Darius: All greetings![ct] 8 Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones,[cu] and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands. 9 We inquired of those elders, asking them, ‘Who gave you the authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?’ 10 We also inquired of their names in order to inform you, so that we might write the names of the men who were their leaders. 11 They responded to us in the following way: ‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple which was previously built many years ago. A great king[cv] of Israel built it and completed it. 12 But after our ancestors[cw] angered the God of heaven, he delivered them into the hands[cx] of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and exiled the people to Babylon.[cy] 13 But in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon,[cz] King Cyrus enacted a decree to rebuild this temple of God. 14 Even the gold and silver vessels of the temple of God that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and had brought to the palace[da] of Babylon—even those things King Cyrus brought from the palace of Babylon and presented[db] to a man by the name of Sheshbazzar whom he had appointed as governor. 15 He said to him, “Take these vessels and go deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt in its proper location.”[dc] 16 Then this Sheshbazzar went and laid the foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem. From that time to the present moment[dd] it has been in the process of being rebuilt, although it is not yet finished.’
17 “Now if the king is so inclined,[de] let a search be conducted in the royal archives[df] there in Babylon in order to determine whether King Cyrus did in fact issue orders for this temple of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us a decision concerning this matter.”
The Resurrection
20 Now very early on the first day of the week,[a] while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene[b] came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance.[c] 2 So she went running[d] to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out to go to the tomb.[e] 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter[f] and reached the tomb first.[g] 5 He bent down[h] and saw the strips of linen cloth lying there,[i] but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who had been following him, arrived and went right into the tomb. He saw[j] the strips of linen cloth lying there, 7 and the face cloth,[k] which had been around Jesus’ head, not lying with the strips of linen cloth but rolled up in a place by itself.[l] 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, came in, and he saw and believed.[m] 9 (For they did not yet understand[n] the scripture that Jesus[o] must rise from the dead.)[p]
Jesus’ Appearance to Mary Magdalene
10 So the disciples went back to their homes. 11 But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she bent down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been lying, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said[q] to her, “Woman,[r] why are you weeping?” Mary replied,[s] “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him!” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there,[t] but she did not know that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Because she[u] thought he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She[v] turned and said to him in Aramaic,[w] “Rabboni”[x] (which means Teacher).[y] 17 Jesus replied,[z] “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene came and informed the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them[aa] what[ab] Jesus[ac] had said to her.[ad]
Jesus’ Appearance to the Disciples
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples had gathered together[ae] and locked the doors[af] of the place[ag] because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders.[ah] Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.[ai] 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you.” 22 And after he said this, he breathed on them and said,[aj] “Receive the Holy Spirit.[ak] 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven;[al] if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.”[am]
The Response of Thomas
24 Now Thomas (called Didymus),[an] one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied,[ao] “Unless I see the wounds[ap] from the nails in his hands, and put my finger into the wounds from the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe it!”[aq]
26 Eight days later the disciples were again together in the house,[ar] and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked,[as] Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put[at] your finger here, and examine[au] my hands. Extend[av] your hand and put it[aw] into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe.”[ax] 28 Thomas replied to him,[ay] “My Lord and my God!”[az] 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are the people[ba] who have not seen and yet have believed.”[bb]
30 Now Jesus performed[bc] many other miraculous signs in the presence of the[bd] disciples, which are not recorded[be] in this book.[bf] 31 But these[bg] are recorded[bh] so that you may believe[bi] that Jesus is the Christ,[bj] the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.[bk]
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