Old/New Testament

Chapter 3

Restoration of the Altar. ¹ When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people gathered in Jerusalem as a single entity. ² Then Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, with his brothers, set out to rebuild the altar of the God of Israel, in order to offer upon it the holocausts as prescribed in the law of Moses, the man of God.

³ Despite their fear of the peoples that surrounded them, they erected the altar on its former site, and upon it they presented burnt offerings to the Lord both morning and evening. ⁴ They also celebrated the Feast of Booths as prescribed and offered the holocausts required for each day.

^5 [a]In addition, they presented the regular burnt offerings and the sacrifices prescribed for the new moons and for the festivals sacred to the Lord, as well as all the free-will offerings made to the Lord. ⁶ From the first day of the seventh month they began to present burnt offerings to the Lord, even though the foundations of the temple of the Lord had not yet been laid.

Founding of the Temple. ⁷ Then money was contributed to the masons and the carpenters, while food, drink, and oil were given to the Sidonians and the Tyrians so that they could procure cedar trees and transport them from Lebanon by sea to Jaffa, permission for which was granted by King Cyrus of Persia.

⁸ In the second month of the second year of their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, together with the rest of their brothers, the priests, the Levites, and all the people who had returned to Jerusalem from their captivity, began their project. ⁹ Jeshua, along with his sons and his brothers, together with Kadmiel and Binnui, the son of Henadad, and their sons and brethren, agreed to supervise the workers in the house of God.

¹⁰ When the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their robes with their trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with their cymbals, were stationed there to praise the Lord according to the ordinances established by King David of Israel. ¹¹ They chanted praise and offered thanksgiving to the Lord, singing:

Then all the people raised a great shout, praising the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord had been laid.^[b]

¹² However, many of the priests and Levites and heads of families, elderly people who had seen the former house, wept loudly in sorrow when they beheld the foundations of this one, although many others shouted aloud for joy. ¹³ As a result, the people were unable to distinguish the clamor of the joyful shouts from the cries of those who were weeping. So great were the shouts and the cries that the sounds could be heard a long distance away.

Chapter 4

Samaritan Interference. ¹ When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were in the process of building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, ² they approached Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the heads of families and said: “Let us assist you as you build, for we reverence your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of King Esarhaddon of Assyria who brought us here.”

³ However, Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of Israelite families replied: “You shall have no share in the building of the house for our God. We alone shall build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia has commanded us.”

⁴ As a result, the people who lived around them became determined to discourage the people of Judah and to make them fearful of continuing to build. ⁵ Moreover, they also bribed officials to frustrate the plans of the people of Judah. This continued during the remaining years of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia and into the reign of King Darius of Persia.^[c]

Later Hostility.^{[d] 6} At the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus, the people of the land drew up an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. ⁷ And later, in the days of Artaxerxes of Persia, Mithredath joined Tabeel and their other associates in writing a letter to the king in Aramaic and then translated.

⁸ After that, Rehum the governor and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes denouncing Jerusalem as follows:

⁹ “From Rehum the governor and Shimshai the secretary, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the envoys, the officials, the magistrates, and the governors over the men from Tripolis, Persia, Erech, and Babylon, the Elamites in Susa, and ¹⁰ all the other peoples whom the great and illustrious Ashurbanipal deported and settled, in the city of Samaria and in the rest of the province of West-of-Euphrates.”^[e]

¹¹ This is a copy of the letter that they sent to him: “To King Artaxerxes, from your servants, the people of the province of Trans-Euphrates: ¹² The king has the right to know that the Jews who came up from you to us have arrived in Jerusalem and are in the process of rebuilding this rebellious and wicked city. They have restored the walls and are repairing the foundations. ¹³ Now we wish to inform the king that if the city is rebuilt and the walls are restored, they will refuse to pay tribute, taxes, or tolls, causing the royal revenues to be sharply reduced.

¹⁴ “Now, because we share the salt of the palace,^[f] we know that it is not right for us to witness the king’s dishonor. We therefore are sending this information to the king ¹⁵ in order that a search may be made in the archives of your ancestors. In those archives you will discover that this is a rebellious city greatly troublesome to kings and provinces, and that sedition has been stirred up within its walls from the earliest times. That is why this city was destroyed. ¹⁶ Therefore, we wish to inform you, O king, that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are raised up again, you will be left without any territory in Trans-Euphrates.”

¹⁷ The king sent this reply: “To Rehum the governor, to Shimshai the secretary, and to the rest of their associates who reside in Samaria and in the province of West-of-Euphrates: Greetings!

¹⁸ “The letter you have sent to us has now been accurately translated and been read in my presence. ¹⁹ When an inquiry was made at my command, it was discovered that this city has frequently risen up against the kings in the past, and that revolt and rebellion were more than an occasional occurrence. ²⁰ In addition, powerful kings have reigned in Jerusalem and exercised authority over the entire province of West-of-Euphrates while exacting tribute, taxes, and tolls.

²¹ “Therefore, now give orders that these men must cease their work, and make it clear that this city is not to be rebuilt until I issue a decree to that effect. ²² And take care that you do not act negligently in this regard, lest the damage increase, to the detriment of the royal house.”

²³ As soon as the text of the letter from King Artaxerxes was read before Rehum the governor, Shimshai the secretary, and their colleagues, they traveled immediately to Jerusalem and compelled the Jews by force of arms to stop their work.

²⁴ Rebuilding of the Temple. Work on the house of God in Jerusalem then ceased, and it so remained until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia.^[g]

Chapter 5

¹ Afterward, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.^{[h] 2} Thereupon Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, began again to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, giving them support.

³ At that time Tattenai, the governor of West-of-Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates came to them and asked: “Who has given you the authority to rebuild this house and complete this structure? ⁴ What are the names of the men who are constructing this building?” ⁵ However, the eyes of their God continued to watch over the elders of the Jews, and they were not forced to stop until a report could reach Darius and an official reply could then be sent back in regard to this matter.

⁶ This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates sent to King Darius. ⁷ This is the written report that they forwarded to him:

“To King Darius: Our sincere greetings. ⁸ Let it be known to your majesty that we went to the province of Judah and visited the house of the great God. It is being rebuilt with massive stones, and beams of timber are being laid in the walls. The work is being done diligently, and significant progress has been made.

⁹ “We then questioned the elders, asking them: ‘Who gave you permission to build this house and to finish this structure?’ ¹⁰ We also asked them their names for your information so that we could record the names of those who were their leaders.

¹¹ “They gave us this answer: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are in the process of rebuilding the house that was erected many years ago, a house that a great king of Israel had built and completed. ¹² But because our ancestors provoked the wrath of the God of heaven, he delivered them into the power of Nebuchadnezzar, the Chaldean king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.

¹³ “ ‘However, King Cyrus of Babylon,^[i] in the first year of his reign, issued a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt. ¹⁴ Moreover, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had removed from the temple of Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, King Cyrus in turn removed from the temple of Babylon and ordered them to be delivered into the hands of a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor. ¹⁵ He said to him: “Take these vessels. Go forth and deposit them in the temple of Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.”

¹⁶ “ ‘Then this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been under construction, and it is not yet completed.’ ¹⁷ Now, if it pleases the king, order that a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to ascertain whether a decree was issued by King Cyrus for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. Then ask the king to convey his decision on this matter to us.”

The Appearances of the Risen One^[a]

Chapter 20

The Mystery of the Empty Tomb.^{[b] 1} Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb. ² Therefore, she ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him.”

³ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and made their way toward the tomb. ⁴ They both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent down and saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.

⁶ When Simon Peter caught up with him, he entered the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, ⁷ and also the cloth that had covered his head not lying with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. ⁸ Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went inside, and he saw and believed. ⁹ They still did not understand the Scripture indicating that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the disciples returned to their homes.

¹¹ Mary Magdalene Recognizes Jesus.^[c] Mary Magdalene remained weeping outside the tomb. And as she wept, she bent down to look into the tomb, ¹² and she saw two angels in white sitting there where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and the other at the feet. ¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She answered, “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him.”

¹⁴ As she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have removed him, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him away.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!”^[d] (which means “Teacher”).

¹⁷ Jesus then said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”^{[e] 18} Mary Magdalene then went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and repeated what he had said to her.

¹⁹ Jesus Appears to the Disciples.^[f] On the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors of the house where the disciples had gathered were locked because of their fear of the Jews. Jesus then came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ After saying this, he showed them his hands and his side.

The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord. ²¹ “Peace be with you,” Jesus said to them again.

²² After saying this, he breathed on them and said,

²⁴ Jesus Appears to Thomas.^[g] Now Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with the rest when Jesus came. ²⁵ When the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord,” he replied, “Unless I see the mark of the nails on his hands and put my finger into the place where the nails pierced and insert my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ Eight days later, the disciples were again in the house, and on this occasion Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and he said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Do not doubt any longer, but believe.” ²⁸ Thomas exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Then Jesus said to him,

³⁰ Believe in Order To Live.^[h] Now Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not recorded in this work. ³¹ But those written here have been recorded so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through your belief you may have life in his name.