Ezra 1-6

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

I. The Return from Exile

Chapter 1

The Decree of Cyrus. ^1 (A)In the first year of Cyrus,^[a] king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing: ² “Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: ‘All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord, the God of heaven,^[b] has given to me, and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. ³ Those among you who belong to any part of his people, may their God be with them! Let them go up to Jerusalem in Judah to build the house of the Lord the God of Israel, that is, the God who is in Jerusalem. ⁴ Let all those who have survived, in whatever place they may have lived, be assisted by the people of that place with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, together with voluntary offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”

⁵ Then the heads of ancestral houses^[c] of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and Levites—everyone, that is, whose spirit had been stirred up by God—prepared to go up to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. ^6 (B)All their neighbors gave them help in every way, with silver, gold, goods, livestock, and many precious gifts, besides all their voluntary offerings. ^7 (C)King Cyrus, too, had the vessels of the house of the Lord brought forth that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his god. ⁸ Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought forth by the treasurer Mithredath, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar, prince of Judah.^{[d] 9} This was the inventory: baskets of goldware, thirty; baskets of silverware, one thousand and twenty-nine; ¹⁰ golden bowls, thirty; silver bowls, four hundred and ten; other vessels, one thousand. ¹¹ Total of the gold and silver vessels: five thousand four hundred.^[e] All these Sheshbazzar took with him when the exiles were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Chapter 2

A Census of the Returned Exiles. ^1 [f](D)These are the inhabitants of the province who returned from the captivity of the exiles, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had carried away to Babylon, and who came back to Jerusalem and Judah, to their various cities ² (those who returned with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah):

The census of the people of Israel: ³ descendants of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; ⁴ descendants of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; ⁵ descendants of Arah, seven hundred and seventy-five; ⁶ descendants of Pahath-moab, who were descendants of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve; ⁷ descendants of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ⁸ descendants of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five; ⁹ descendants of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; ¹⁰ descendants of Bani, six hundred and forty-two; ¹¹ descendants of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three; ¹² descendants of Azgad, one thousand two hundred and twenty-two; ¹³ descendants of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-six; ¹⁴ descendants of Bigvai, two thousand and fifty-six; ¹⁵ descendants of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four; ¹⁶ descendants of Ater, who were descendants of Hezekiah, ninety-eight; ¹⁷ descendants of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-three; ¹⁸ descendants of Jorah, one hundred and twelve; ¹⁹ descendants of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three; ²⁰ descendants of Gibeon, ninety-five; ²¹ descendants of Bethlehem, one hundred and twenty-three; ²² people of Netophah, fifty-six; ²³ people of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight; ²⁴ people of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two; ²⁵ people of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three; ²⁶ people of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one; ²⁷ people of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two; ²⁸ people of Bethel and Ai, two hundred and twenty-three; ²⁹ descendants of Nebo, fifty-two; ³⁰ descendants of Magbish, one hundred and fifty-six; ³¹ descendants of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ³² descendants of Harim, three hundred and twenty; ³³ descendants of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five; ³⁴ descendants of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; ³⁵ descendants of Senaah, three thousand six hundred and thirty.

³⁶ The priests: descendants of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three; ³⁷ descendants of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two; ³⁸ descendants of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; ³⁹ descendants of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.

^40 (E)The Levites: descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the descendants of Hodaviah, seventy-four.

⁴¹ The singers:^[g] descendants of Asaph, one hundred and twenty-eight.

⁴² The gatekeepers:^[h] descendants of Shallum, descendants of Ater, descendants of Talmon, descendants of Akkub, descendants of Hatita, descendants of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-nine in all.

⁴³ The temple servants: descendants of Ziha, descendants of Hasupha, descendants of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁴ descendants of Keros, descendants of Siaha, descendants of Padon, ⁴⁵ descendants of Lebanah, descendants of Hagabah, descendants of Akkub, ⁴⁶ descendants of Hagab, descendants of Shamlai, descendants of Hanan, ⁴⁷ descendants of Giddel, descendants of Gahar, descendants of Reaiah, ⁴⁸ descendants of Rezin, descendants of Nekoda, descendants of Gazzam, ⁴⁹ descendants of Uzza, descendants of Paseah, descendants of Besai, ⁵⁰ descendants of Asnah, descendants of the Meunites, descendants of the Nephusites, ⁵¹ descendants of Bakbuk, descendants of Hakupha, descendants of Harhur, ⁵² descendants of Bazluth, descendants of Mehida, descendants of Harsha, ⁵³ descendants of Barkos, descendants of Sisera, descendants of Temah, ⁵⁴ descendants of Neziah, descendants of Hatipha.

⁵⁵ Descendants of Solomon’s servants: descendants of Sotai, descendants of Hassophereth, descendants of Peruda, ⁵⁶ descendants of Jaalah, descendants of Darkon, descendants of Giddel, ⁵⁷ descendants of Shephatiah, descendants of Hattil, descendants of Pochereth-hazzebaim, descendants of Ami. ⁵⁸ The total of the temple servants together with the descendants of Solomon’s servants was three hundred and ninety-two.

⁵⁹ The following who returned from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer were unable to prove that their ancestral houses and their descent were Israelite: ⁶⁰ descendants of Delaiah, descendants of Tobiah, descendants of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two. ^61 (F)Also, of the priests: descendants of Habaiah, descendants of Hakkoz, descendants of Barzillai (he had married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was named after him). ⁶² These searched their family records, but their names could not be found there, and they were excluded from the priesthood. ^63 (G)The governor^[i] ordered them not to partake of the most holy foods until there should be a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.

⁶⁴ The entire assembly taken together came to forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, ⁶⁵ not counting their male and female servants, who numbered seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven. They also had two hundred male and female singers. ⁶⁶ Their horses numbered seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five, ⁶⁷ their camels four hundred and thirty-five, their donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.

⁶⁸ When they arrived at the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the heads of ancestral houses made voluntary offerings for the house of God, to rebuild it in its place. ⁶⁹ According to their means they contributed to the treasury for the temple service: sixty-one thousand drachmas of gold, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priestly robes. ⁷⁰ The priests, the Levites, and some of the people took up residence in Jerusalem; the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants settled in their cities. Thus all the Israelites settled in their cities.

Chapter 3

Restoration of Worship. ^1 (H)Now when the seventh month^[j] came, after the Israelites had settled in their cities, the people gathered as one in Jerusalem. ² Then Jeshua, son of Jozadak, together with his kinsmen the priests, and Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, together with his kinsmen, began building the altar of the God of Israel in order to offer on it the burnt offerings prescribed in the law of Moses, the man of God. ^3 (I)They set the altar on its foundations, for they lived in fear of the peoples of the lands,^[k] and offered burnt offerings to the Lord on it, both morning and evening. ^4 (J)They also kept the feast of Booths in the manner prescribed, and they offered the daily burnt offerings in the proper number required for each day. ⁵ Thereafter they offered regular burnt offerings, the sacrifices prescribed for the new moons and all the festivals sacred to the Lord, and those which anyone might bring as a voluntary offering to the Lord.

Laying the Foundations of the Temple. ⁶ From the first day of the seventh month they reinstituted the burnt offering to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid. ^7 (K)Then they hired stonecutters and carpenters, and sent food and drink and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians that they might ship cedar trees from the Lebanon to the port of Joppa, as Cyrus, king of Persia, had authorized. ⁸ In the year after their coming to the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, son of Jozadak, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and Levites and all who had come from the captivity to Jerusalem, began by appointing the Levites twenty years of age and over to supervise the work on the house of the Lord. ⁹ Jeshua and his sons and kinsmen, with Kadmiel and Binnui, son of Hodaviah, and their sons and their kindred, the Levites, together undertook to supervise those who were engaged in the work on the house of God. ^10 (L)While the builders were laying the foundation of the Lord’s temple, the priests in their vestments were stationed with trumpets and the Levites, sons of Asaph, with cymbals to praise the Lord in the manner laid down by David, king of Israel. ^11 (M)They alternated in songs of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, “for he is good, for his love for Israel endures forever”;^[l] and all the people raised a great shout of joy, praising the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s house had been laid. ^12 (N)Many of the priests, Levites, and heads of ancestral houses, who were old enough to have seen the former house, cried out in sorrow as they watched the foundation of the present house being laid. Many others, however, lifted up their voices in shouts of joy. ¹³ No one could distinguish the sound of the joyful shouting from the sound of those who were weeping; for the people raised a mighty clamor which was heard far away.

Chapter 4

Outside Interference. ¹ When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, ^2 (O)they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of ancestral houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God just as you do, and we have sacrificed to him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria,^[m] who brought us here.” ³ But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of ancestral houses of Israel answered them, “It is not your responsibility to build with us a house for our God, but we alone must build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as Cyrus king of Persia has commanded us.” ⁴ Thereupon the local inhabitants^[n] discouraged the people of Judah and frightened them off from building. ⁵ They also bribed counselors to work against them and to frustrate their plans during all the years of Cyrus, king of Persia, and even into the reign of Darius,^[o] king of Persia.

Later Hostility. ⁶ In the reign of Ahasuerus,^[p] at the beginning of his reign, they prepared a written accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

^7 [q]Again, in the time of Artaxerxes, Tabeel and the rest of his fellow officials, in concert with Mithredath, wrote to Artaxerxes, king of Persia. The document was written in Aramaic and was accompanied by a translation.

^8 [r]Then Rehum, the governor, and Shimshai, the scribe, wrote the following letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes: ⁹ “Rehum, the governor, Shimshai, the scribe, and their fellow officials, judges, legates, and agents from among the Persians, Urukians, Babylonians, Susians (that is, Elamites), ¹⁰ and the other peoples whom the great and illustrious Osnappar^[s] transported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in the province West-of-Euphrates, as follows….” ¹¹ This is a copy of the letter that they sent to him:

“To King Artaxerxes, your servants, the men of West-of-Euphrates, as follows: ¹² Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have arrived at Jerusalem and are now rebuilding this rebellious and evil city. They are completing its walls, and the foundations have already been laid. ¹³ Now let it be known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls completed, they will no longer pay taxes, tributes, or tolls; eventually the throne will be harmed. ¹⁴ Now, since we eat the salt of the palace^[t] and it is not fitting for us to look on while the king is being dishonored, we have sent this message to inform the king, ¹⁵ so that inquiry may be made in the historical records of your fathers. In the historical records you will discover and verify that this is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces; its people have been acting seditiously there since ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed. ¹⁶ We therefore inform the king, that if this city is rebuilt and its walls completed again, you will thereupon not have a portion in the province West-of-Euphrates.”

¹⁷ The king sent this answer: “To Rehum, the governor, Shimshai, the scribe, and their fellow officials living in Samaria and elsewhere in the province West-of-Euphrates, greetings: ¹⁸ The communication which you sent us has been read in translation in my presence. ¹⁹ When at my command inquiry was made, it was verified that from ancient times this city has risen up against kings and that rebellion and sedition have been fostered there. ²⁰ Powerful kings once ruled in Jerusalem who controlled all West-of-Euphrates, and taxes, tributes, and tolls were paid to them. ²¹ Give orders, therefore, to stop these men. This city may not be rebuilt until a further decree has been issued by me. ²² Take care that you do not neglect this matter. Why should evil increase to harm the throne?”

^23 (P)As soon as a copy of King Artaxerxes’ letter had been read before Rehum, the governor, Shimshai, the scribe, and their fellow officials, they immediately went to the Jews in Jerusalem and stopped their work by force of arms. ²⁴ As a result, work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased. This interruption lasted until the second year of the reign of Darius,^[u] king of Persia.

Chapter 5

The Work Resumed Under Darius; Further Problems. ^1 (Q)Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah,^[v] son of Iddo, began to prophesy to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel. ² Thereupon Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, son of Jozadak, began again to build the house of God in Jerusalem, with the prophets of God giving them support. ³ At that time Tattenai, governor of West-of-Euphrates, came to them, along with Shethar-bozenai, and their fellow officials, and asked of them: “Who issued the decree for you to build this house and complete this edifice? ⁴ What are the names of the men who are building this structure?” ⁵ But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, and they were not delayed during the time a report went to Darius and a written order came back concerning this matter.

⁶ A copy of the letter which Tattenai, governor of West-of-Euphrates, along with Shethar-bozenai and their fellow officials from West-of-Euphrates, sent to King Darius; ⁷ they sent him a report in which was written the following:

“To King Darius, all good wishes! ⁸ Let it be known to the king that we have visited the province of Judah and the house of the great God: it is being rebuilt of cut stone and the walls are being reinforced with timber; the work is being carried out diligently, prospering under their hands. ⁹ We then questioned the elders, addressing to them the following words: ‘Who issued the decree for you to build this house and complete this edifice?’ ¹⁰ We also asked them their names, in order to give you a list of the men who are their leaders. ¹¹ This was their answer to us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house built here many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed. ¹² But because our ancestors provoked the wrath of the God of heaven, he delivered them into the power of the Chaldean, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who destroyed this house and exiled the people to Babylon. ^13 (R)However, in the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree for the rebuilding of this house of God. ¹⁴ Moreover, the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and carried off to the temple in Babylon, King Cyrus ordered to be removed from the temple in Babylon, and they were given to a certain Sheshbazzar, whom he named governor. ¹⁵ He commanded him: Take these vessels and deposit them in the temple of Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its former site. ¹⁶ Then this same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. Since that time to the present the building has been going on, and is not yet completed.’ ¹⁷ Now, if it please the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to discover whether a decree really was issued by King Cyrus for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. And may the king’s decision in this matter be communicated to us.”

Chapter 6

The Decree of Darius. ^1 [w]Thereupon King Darius issued an order to search the archives in which the treasures were stored in Babylon. ^2 (S)However, a scroll was found in Ecbatana, the stronghold in the province of Media, containing the following text: “Memorandum. ³ In the first year of his reign, King Cyrus issued a decree: With regard to the house of God in Jerusalem: the house is to be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices and bringing burnt offerings. Its height is to be sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits. ⁴ It shall have three courses of cut stone for each one of timber. The costs are to be borne by the royal house. ⁵ Also, let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple of Jerusalem and brought to Babylon be sent back; let them be returned to their place in the temple of Jerusalem and deposited in the house of God.”

⁶ “Now, therefore, Tattenai, governor of West-of-Euphrates, and Shethar-bozenai, and you, their fellow officials in West-of-Euphrates, stay away from there. ⁷ Let the governor and the elders of the Jews continue the work on that house of God; they are to rebuild it on its former site. ⁸ I also issue this decree concerning your dealing with these elders of the Jews in the rebuilding of that house of God: Let these men be repaid for their expenses, in full and without delay from the royal revenue, deriving from the taxes of West-of-Euphrates, so that the work not be interrupted. ⁹ Whatever else is required—young bulls, rams, and lambs for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the requirements of the priests who are in Jerusalem—let that be delivered to them day by day without fail, ¹⁰ that they may continue to offer sacrifices of pleasing odor to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. ¹¹ I also issue this decree: if any man alters this edict, a beam is to be taken from his house, and he is to be lifted up and impaled on it; and his house is to be reduced to rubble for this offense. ¹² And may the God who causes his name to dwell there overthrow every king or people who may undertake to alter this decree or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree; let it be diligently executed.”

The Task Finally Completed. ¹³ Then Tattenai, the governor of West-of-Euphrates, and Shethar-bozenai, and their fellow officials carried out with all diligence the instructions King Darius had sent them. ¹⁴ The elders of the Jews continued to make progress in the building, supported by the message of the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, son of Iddo. They finished the building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus and Darius, and of Artaxerxes, king of Persia. ¹⁵ They completed this house on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. ¹⁶ The Israelites—priests, Levites, and the other returned exiles—celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. ¹⁷ For the dedication of this house of God, they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs, together with twelve he-goats as a sin offering for all Israel, in keeping with the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ Finally, they set up the priests in their classes and the Levites in their divisions for the service of God in Jerusalem, as is prescribed in the book of Moses.

The Passover. ^19 (T)The returned exiles kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. ²⁰ The Levites, every one of whom had purified himself for the occasion, sacrificed the Passover for all the exiles, for their colleagues the priests, and for themselves. ²¹ The Israelites who had returned from the exile and all those who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the Gentiles in the land shared in it, seeking the Lord, the God of Israel. ^22 (U)They joyfully kept the feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, for the Lord had filled them with joy by making the king of Assyria^[x] favorable to them, so that he gave them help in their work on the house of God, the God of Israel.