Ezra

Ezra

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,

in order to fulfill the word of YHWH spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah,

YHWH stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia,

so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom

and also put it in writing:

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:

YHWH, the God of the heavens,

has given me all the kingdoms of the earth,

and He has charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Whoever is among you of all His people—may his God be with him—

let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah,

and rebuild the House of YHWH, the God of Israel—

He is the God who is in Jerusalem.

And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns,

be helped by the men of his place

with silver and gold, with goods and with animals,

along with freewill offerings

for the House of God that is in Jerusalem.”

Then the heads of the ancestral houses of Judah and Benjamin,

and the priests and the Levites,

everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up

to rebuild the House of YHWH that is in Jerusalem,

arose.

And all who were around them

encouraged them with vessels of silver, with gold,

with goods and animals, and with costly gifts—

besides all that was offered freely.

King Cyrus also brought out the vessels

of the House of YHWH

that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem

and had put in the house of his gods.

Cyrus king of Persia brought these out

in the charge of Mithredath the treasurer,

who counted them out to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.

And this was the inventory:

Gold basins — 30

Silver basins — 1,000

Knives — 29

Gold bowls — 30

Silver bowls of a different kind — 410

Other vessels — 1,000

All the vessels of gold and silver were 5,400.

All these Sheshbazzar brought up

when the exiles were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

———

Now these are the people of the province

who came up out of the captivity of the exiles,

whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon.

They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town.

They came with Zerubbabel,

Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordekai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.

The number of the men of the people of Israel:

The sons of Parosh — 2,172

The sons of Shephatiah — 372

The sons of Arah — 775

The sons of Pahath-moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab — 2,812

The sons of Elam — 1,254

The sons of Zattu — 945

The sons of Zaccai — 760

The sons of Bani — 642

The sons of Bebai — 623

The sons of Azgad — 1,222

The sons of Adonikam — 666

The sons of Bigvai — 2,056

The sons of Adin — 454

The sons of Ater, namely of Hezekiah — 98

The sons of Bezai — 323

The sons of Jorah — 112

The sons of Hashum — 223

The sons of Gibbar — 95

The sons of Bethlehem — 123

The men of Netophah — 56

The men of Anathoth — 128

The sons of Azmaveth — 42

The sons of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth — 743

The sons of Ramah and Geba — 621

The men of Michmas — 122

The men of Bethel and Ai — 223

The sons of Nebo — 52

The sons of Magbish — 156

The sons of the other Elam — 1,254

The sons of Harim — 320

The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono — 725

The sons of Jericho — 345

The sons of Senaah — 3,630

The Priests:

The sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua — 973

The sons of Immer — 1,052

The sons of Pashhur — 1,247

The sons of Harim — 1,017

The Levites:

The sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodaviah — 74

The Singers:

The sons of Asaph — 128

The Gatekeepers:

The sons of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai — 139

The Temple Servants:

The sons of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, Keros, Siaha, Padon, Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub, Hagab, Shamlai, Hanan, Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah, Besai, Asnah, Meunim, Nephisim, Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, Barkos, Sisera, Temah, Neziah, and Hatipha.

The Sons of Solomon’s Servants:

Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda, Jaalah, Darkon, Giddel, Shephatiah, Hattil, Pokereth-hazzebaim, and Ami.

All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants were 392.

Those Who Could Not Prove Their Lineage:

The sons of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda — 652

And of the priests:

The sons of Hobaiah, Hakkoz, and Barzillai—

(who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name).

These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies,

but they were not found there,

and so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.

The governor told them they should not eat of the most holy food

until a priest arose with Urim and Thummim.

The Whole Assembly Together:

The whole assembly was 42,360,

besides their male and female servants—7,337—

and they had 200 male and female singers.

Their horses were 736,

their mules 245,

their camels 435,

and their donkeys 6,720.

The Return Offering:

Some of the heads of families,

when they came to the House of YHWH that is in Jerusalem,

offered freely for the House of God,

to erect it on its site.

According to their ability they gave to the treasury

61,000 darics of gold,

5,000 minas of silver,

and 100 priestly garments.

So the priests, the Levites, some of the people,

the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants

lived in their towns,

and all Israel in their towns.

———

When the seventh month came,

and the children of Israel were in their towns,

the people gathered as one in Jerusalem.

Then Jeshua son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests,

and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, with his kinsmen,

rose and built the altar of the God of Israel,

to offer burnt offerings on it,

as it is written in the Torah of Moses the man of God.

They set the altar in its place,

for fear was upon them because of the peoples of the lands,

and they offered burnt offerings on it to YHWH,

morning and evening.

They kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written,

and offered the daily burnt offerings by number,

according to the custom, each day required.

After that, the regular offerings,

and the offerings for the new moons,

and all the appointed feasts of YHWH,

and the freewill offerings of all who gave willingly.

From the first day of the seventh month

they began to offer burnt offerings to YHWH.

But the foundation of the temple had not yet been laid.

So they gave money to the masons and carpenters,

and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians

to bring cedar trees from Lebanon by sea to Joppa,

as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.

———

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin

heard that the returned exiles were building a temple

to YHWH, the God of Israel,

they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of families and said,

“Let us build with you,

for we seek your God as you do,

and we have been sacrificing to Him

since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria.”

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of families said to them,

“You have nothing to do with us in building a house for our God;

we alone will build to YHWH, the God of Israel,

as King Cyrus has commanded us.”

Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah

and made them afraid to build.

They bribed counselors against them

to frustrate their purpose

all the days of Cyrus

until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

In the reign of Ahasuerus,

at the beginning of his reign,

they wrote an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

And in the days of Artaxerxes,

a letter was written against Jerusalem by Rehum the commander

and Shimshai the scribe and their associates.

They said:

“These Jews are rebuilding the rebellious and wicked city.

They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations.

Let it be known to the king

that if this city is rebuilt and the walls completed,

they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll,

and the royal revenue will be impaired.”

Then the king sent an answer:

“Make a search and you will find

that this city has a long history of rebellion.

Therefore, issue an order to stop the work,

so that this city is not rebuilt until I give word.”

Then, by force and power,

the work on the House of God in Jerusalem stopped,

and it remained halted until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

———

Now the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo

prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem,

in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.

Then Zerubbabel and Jeshua arose

and began to rebuild the House of God in Jerusalem,

and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

At the same time,

Tattenai the governor of the province beyond the River,

Shethar-bozenai, and their companions

came and said:

“Who gave you a decree to build this house?”

Then they asked their names

to make a report to the king.

But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews,

and they were not stopped

until the matter should be reported to Darius

and a written reply received.

———

Then Darius the king issued a decree,

and a search was made in the archives.

And in Ecbatana, in the province of Media,

a scroll was found, and this was written in it:

“In the first year of Cyrus,

Cyrus the king issued a decree:

The House of God in Jerusalem shall be rebuilt,

its height and width sixty cubits,

with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber.

Also, let the gold and silver vessels

of the House of God,

which Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylon,

be restored and returned to the temple in Jerusalem.”

Then Darius wrote:

“Let the work of this House of God alone.

Let the governor and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site.

Moreover, I make a decree:

From the royal treasury, let expenses be paid to these men

so they are not hindered.

Also, let animals for burnt offerings

be given to them each day without fail,

that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven

and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

And I make a decree:

If anyone alters this decree,

let a beam be pulled out of his house,

and let him be impaled upon it.

And may his house be made a refuse heap.”

Then Tattenai, Shethar-bozenai, and their companions

did with all diligence what King Darius had commanded.

So the elders of the Jews built and prospered

through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah.

They finished the house

by the decree of the God of Israel,

and by the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

And this house was completed on the third day

of the month of Adar,

in the sixth year of the reign of Darius.

Then the children of Israel—priests, Levites, and all the returned exiles—

celebrated the dedication of this House of God with joy.

And they offered at the dedication

a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs,

and twelve male goats, one for each tribe of Israel.

And they set the priests in their divisions

and the Levites in their stations,

for the service of God in Jerusalem,

as it is written in the Book of Moses.

———

Now after these things,

in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia,

Ezra son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah,

son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub,

son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth,

son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki,

son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest—

this Ezra went up from Babylon.

He was a scribe skilled in the Torah of Moses,

which YHWH, the God of Israel, had given.

And the king granted him all he requested,

for the hand of YHWH his God was upon him.

And some of the people of Israel,

and some of the priests and Levites,

the singers and gatekeepers and temple servants,

also went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month,

which was in the seventh year of the king.

He began to go up from Babylon on the first day of the first month,

and he came to Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month,

for the good hand of his God was upon him.

For Ezra had set his heart

to seek the Torah of YHWH,

to do it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

The King’s Letter

This is a copy of the letter

that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe:

“Artaxerxes, king of kings,

to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven:

I decree that any of the people of Israel,

their priests or Levites in my kingdom,

who freely choose to go to Jerusalem, may go with you.

You are sent by the king and his seven counselors

to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem

according to the law of your God, which is in your hand.

You are also to carry silver and gold

that the king and his counselors freely offered to the God of Israel,

whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,

and all the silver and gold you may collect

in the whole province of Babylon,

with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests,

to go to the House of their God in Jerusalem.

With this money you shall buy bulls, rams, and lambs,

with their grain offerings and drink offerings,

and offer them on the altar of the House of your God in Jerusalem.

And whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do

with the rest of the silver and gold,

you may do, according to the will of your God.

The vessels for the service of the House of your God

deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem.

Whatever else is needed for the House of your God,

you may provide it from the king’s treasury.

I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree

to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River:

whatever Ezra the priest requires,

let it be done with all diligence,

up to 100 talents of silver,

100 cors of wheat,

100 baths of wine,

100 baths of oil,

and salt without limit.

Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven,

let it be done with zeal for the House of the God of heaven,

lest His wrath be against the kingdom of the king and his sons.

We also notify you

that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll

on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this House of God.

And you, Ezra,

according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand,

appoint magistrates and judges

to judge all the people in the province Beyond the River,

all who know the laws of your God.

And you shall teach those who do not know them.

Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king,

let judgment be executed upon him strictly—

whether for death, banishment, confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.”

Ezra’s Praise

Blessed be YHWH, the God of our fathers,

who put such a thing as this into the king’s heart,

to beautify the House of YHWH in Jerusalem,

and who extended mercy to me

before the king and his counselors

and all the king’s mighty officials.

So I was strengthened

because the hand of YHWH my God was upon me,

and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me.

———

These are the heads of their fathers’ houses,

and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me

from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes:

[List of names and numbers preserved exactly as found in ancient text.]

I gathered them at the river that runs to Ahava,

and we camped there three days.

Then I reviewed the people and the priests,

and found none of the sons of Levi.

So I sent for leading men—Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, and others—

and I gave them instructions to speak to Iddo,

the leader at the place Casiphia,

that they might bring us ministers for the House of God.

And by the good hand of our God upon us,

they brought us men of understanding.

Then I proclaimed a fast at the river Ahava,

that we might humble ourselves before our God,

to seek from Him a safe journey

for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.

For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen

to protect us from the enemy on the way,

since we had said to the king:

“The hand of our God is for good on all who seek Him,

and His power and wrath are against all who forsake Him.”

So we fasted and sought our God,

and He listened to our entreaty.

Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests

and weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the vessels—

the offering for the House of our God,

which the king and his counselors and all Israel present had offered.

I said to them,

“You are holy to YHWH,

and the vessels are holy,

and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to YHWH.

Guard them carefully.”

So we departed from the river Ahava

on the twelfth day of the first month,

to go to Jerusalem.

And the hand of our God was upon us,

and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy.

And we came to Jerusalem

and remained there three days.

Then on the fourth day,

the silver and gold and the vessels were weighed

in the House of our God.

The total was recorded.

And those who had returned from exile

offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel—

twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs,

and twelve male goats as a sin offering.

All this was a burnt offering to YHWH.

———

After these things had been done,

the leaders approached me and said,

“The people of Israel and the priests and Levites

have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands

with their abominations…

For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives

for themselves and for their sons,

so that the holy seed has mixed itself

with the peoples of the lands.

And the hand of the officials and leaders

has been foremost in this unfaithfulness.”

When I heard this,

I tore my garments and cloak

and pulled hair from my head and beard

and sat appalled.

Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel

gathered around me

because of this faithlessness,

and I sat appalled until the evening offering.

At the evening offering

I rose from my humiliation,

with my garments and cloak torn,

and fell on my knees

and spread out my hands to YHWH my God:

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to You,

for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads,

and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.

From the days of our fathers to this day

we have been in great guilt.

Yet now, for a brief moment,

grace has been shown from YHWH our God,

to leave us a remnant and give us a secure hold in His holy place…

And now, O our God,

what shall we say after this?

For we have forsaken Your commandments…

Shall we break Your commandments again

and intermarry with the peoples who do these abominations?

Would You not be angry with us

until You consumed us,

so that there would be no remnant or survivor?

O YHWH, God of Israel,

You are righteous,

for we are left a remnant that has escaped.

Behold, we stand before You in our guilt,

for none can stand before You because of this.”

———

While Ezra prayed and made confession,

weeping and casting himself down before the House of God,

a very great assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel,

for the people wept bitterly.

And Shecaniah son of Jehiel said to Ezra,

“We have broken faith with our God

and have married foreign women…

But even now there is hope for Israel.

Let us make a covenant with our God

to send away all these wives and their children…”

Then Ezra arose

and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear

that they would do as had been said.

They swore.

Then a proclamation was made

that all the returned exiles must assemble in Jerusalem.

And all the men of Judah and Benjamin

gathered within three days…

Ezra stood and said to them:

“You have broken faith and married foreign women…

Now make confession to YHWH, and do His will.”

And the assembly answered with a loud voice:

“It is so; we must do as you have said.”

The returned exiles acted accordingly.

They set apart heads of families,

and by the first day of the first month

they finished dealing with all the men

who had married foreign women.

[List of names of those who had intermarried follows—preserved in full.]