Ezra

Chapter 1

¹ During the first year that Cyrus ruled the Persian Empire, he did something that fulfilled a prophecy that Jeremiah had spoken. Yahweh motivated Cyrus to write this message, and then Cyrus proclaimed this message throughout his empire:

² “I, King Cyrus, rule the Persian Empire, and I say this: Yahweh, the God who is in heaven, has made me ruler over the great kingdoms on earth. Now he has assigned me to {make sure that his people} build a temple for him in Jerusalem in Judah. ³ All you people who belong to God may go up to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this temple for Yahweh, the God who is in Jerusalem, the God of Israel. And may God give you success! ⁴ The other people who are living where Israelites are now in exile, whose ancestors were exiled here, must contribute silver and gold to those who go. They should also give the Jews {the} supplies {that they will need for their journey to Jerusalem}. They should also give them some livestock and gifts of money to help build the temple of God in Jerusalem.”

⁵ Then God motivated some of the priests and Levites and {some of} the clan leaders from {the tribes of} Judah and Benjamin to return to Jerusalem. Those whom God motivated got ready to return to Jerusalem and build the temple for him there. ⁶ Many of their neighbors helped them by giving them silver and golden things, livestock and supplies for the journey. They also gave them other valuable gifts, and gave them money to buy things for building the temple. ⁷ King Cyrus brought out the valuable things that King Nebuchadnezzar{’s soldiers} had taken from the temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem and put in the temples of their gods {in Babylon}. ⁸ King Cyrus of Persia commanded Mithredath, his treasurer, to bring out all these items and to give each one of them to Sheshbazzar, the leader of {the group that was going to return to} Judah. ⁹ This is a list of the items {that Cyrus donated}: 30 gold basins, 1000 silver basins, 29 other basins, ¹⁰ 30 gold bowls, 410 similar silver bowls, and 1000 other objects. ¹¹ All together, Cyrus gave 5400 silver and gold items to Sheshbazzar to take with him when he and the others returned from Babylonia to Jerusalem.

Chapter 2

¹ {The army of} King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had captured many Israelite people and taken them to Babylonia. {Many years later,} some Israelite people returned to Judah. Some returned to Jerusalem, and some returned to other places in Judah. They went to the towns where their ancestors had lived. This is a list of the groups who returned. ² The leaders of those people who returned were Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.

The groups of people who returned to Judah are listed next.

³ 2, 172 descendants of Parosh

⁴ 372 descendants of Shephatiah

⁵ 775 descendants of Arach

⁶ 2, 812 descendants of Pahath-Moab, from the families of Jeshua and Joab

⁷ 1, 254 descendants of Elam

⁸ 945 descendants of Zattu

⁹ 760 descendants of Zaccai

¹⁰ 642 descendants of Bani

¹¹ 623 descendants of Bebai

¹² 1, 222 descendants of Azgad

¹³ 666 descendants of Adonikam

¹⁴ 2, 056 descendants of Bigvai

¹⁵ 454 descendants of Adin

¹⁶ 98 descendants of Ater, who descended from Hezekiah

¹⁷ 323 descendants of Bezai

¹⁸ 112 descendants of Jorah

¹⁹ 223 descendants of Hashum

²⁰ 95 descendants of Gibbar.

²¹ {People whose ancestors had lived in these towns in Judah:}

123 from Bethlehem

²² 56 from Netophah

²³ 128 from Anathoth

²⁴ 42 from Azmaveth

²⁵ 743 from Kiriath Arim, Kephirah, and Beeroth

²⁶ 621 from Ramah and Geba

²⁷ 122 from Michmas

²⁸ 223 from Bethel and Ai

²⁹ 52 from Nebo

³⁰ 156 from Magbish

³¹ 1, 254 from Elam

³² 320 from Harim

³³ 725 from Lod, Hadid, and Ono

³⁴ 345 from Jericho

³⁵ 3, 630 from Senaah

³⁶ These are the priests who returned:

973 descendants of Jedaiah (that is, those who descended through Jeshua)

³⁷ 1, 052 descendants of Immer

³⁸ 1, 247 descendants of Pashur

³⁹ 1, 017 descendants of Harim

⁴⁰ These are the Levites who returned:

74 descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel, who were from the family of Hodaviah

⁴¹ 128 singers who were descendants of Asaph

⁴² 139 gatekeepers who were descendants of the gatekeepers Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita, and Shobai

⁴³ These are the temple workers who returned. They were descendants of these men: Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, ⁴⁴ Keros, Siaha, Padon, ⁴⁵ Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub, ⁴⁶ Hagab, Shalmai, Hanan, ⁴⁷ Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah, ⁴⁸ Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, ⁴⁹ Uzza, Paseah, Besai, ⁵⁰ Asnah, Meunim, Nephusim, ⁵¹ Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, ⁵² Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, ⁵³ Barkos, Sisera, Temah, ⁵⁴ Neziah, and Hatipha.

⁵⁵ The following descendants of King Solomon’s servants returned to Jerusalem: Sotai, Hassophereth, Peruda, ⁵⁶ Jaalah, Darkon, Giddel, ⁵⁷ Shephatiah, Hattil, Pochereth Hazzebaim, and Ami. ⁵⁸ Altogether, there were 392 descendants of temple workers and Solomon’s servants who returned.

⁵⁹ There was another group that returned to Judah from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cerub, Addon, and Immer in Babylonia. But they could not prove that they were genuinely Israelites. ⁶⁰ This group included 652 people who were descendants of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda. ⁶¹ The descendants of the priests in this group included people belonging to Habaiah’s clan, Hakkoz’s clan, and Barzillai’s clan. Barzillai had married a woman who was a descendant of Barzillai from the region of Gilead. He had taken the name of his father-in-law’s clan for himself. ⁶² The people in that group searched in the documents that had the names of the ancestors of all the clans, but they did not find the names of these men. So they did not permit them to do the work that priests did. ⁶³ The governor told them that they would need to ask a priest to consult Yahweh by casting the sacred lots{, to determine whether those men were truly Israelites}. {If the lots showed that those men were Israelites,} then they would be permitted to eat the shares of the sacrifices that were given to the priests.

⁶⁴ Altogether, 42360 Israelite people returned to Judah. ⁶⁵ There were also 7, 337 servants and 200 musicians, both men and women, who returned. ⁶⁶ The Israelites brought with them from Babylonia 736 horses, 245 mules, ⁶⁷ 435 camels, and 6, 720 donkeys.

⁶⁸ When they arrived at the temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem, some of the clan leaders gave money for the supplies needed to rebuild the temple in the same place where the old temple had been. ⁶⁹ They gave as much money as they were able to give. Altogether, they gave 61000 gold coins, 5000 silver pieces, and 100 robes for the priests.

⁷⁰ These were the priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers, temple servants, and other people who returned to live in the towns and villages {of the province of Judah}. They settled in the places where their ancestors had lived.

Chapter 3

¹ After the Israelite people {returned and} began to live in their towns, in the autumn of that year, they all gathered together in Jerusalem. ² Then Jeshua son of Jehozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates all began to rebuild the altar of the God of Israel. They did that so that they could sacrifice burnt offerings on it. They wanted to follow what the prophet Moses had written in the laws that God had given to him. ³ Even though they were afraid of the people who were already living in that area, they rebuilt the altar at the same place where the previous altar had been. They began to offer sacrifices to Yahweh on it every morning and every evening. ⁴ {Fifteen days after they started to offer these sacrifices,} the people celebrated the Festival of Shelters. {Moses had commanded them to do this in the decrees that God had given to him.} Each day the priests offered the sacrifices that were required for that day. ⁵ From then on, they presented the regular burnt offerings and the {other required} offerings{. These were} for the New Moon festivals and the other festivals that they celebrated as special times each year to honor Yahweh. They also brought other offerings to Yahweh just because they wanted to{, not because they were required to bring them}. ⁶ But even though they started bringing burnt offerings to Yahweh at the beginning of autumn, they had not yet started rebuilding the temple. ⁷ So the Israelites hired masons and carpenters {to do the construction work}. They also bought logs from cedar trees from the people of the cities of Tyre and Sidon. They gave those people food, wine, and olive oil as payment. Those people brought the logs down from the mountains in Lebanon {to the Mediterranean seacoast} and then floated them along the coast to Joppa. King Cyrus had said they could do that. {Then they brought the logs inland from Joppa up to Jerusalem.}

⁸ The Israelites started to rebuild the temple in the springtime of the second year after they returned to Jerusalem. Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, their fellow leaders the priests and the Levites, and all the people who had returned to Jerusalem supported this project. They assigned the Levites twenty years old and older to supervise the work of rebuilding the temple. ⁹ Jeshua, his sons, and his other relatives, and Kadmiel and his sons together helped to supervise the work on the temple. They were all descendants of Judah. People who were descendants of Henadad and their sons and their relatives, who were all also Levites, joined with them. ¹⁰ When the builders finished laying the foundation of the temple, the priests put on their robes and stood in their places blowing their trumpets. Then the Levites who were descendants of Asaph clashed their cymbals to praise Yahweh. {Many years previously,} King David had told Asaph and the other musicians to do this. ¹¹ They praised Yahweh and thanked him, and they sang this song about him:

     “He is very good to us!

     He honors his covenant faithfulness for Israel{, and he will love us} forever.” Then all the people shouted loudly. They praised Yahweh because they had finished laying the foundation of his temple. ¹² Many of the old priests, Levites, and leaders of families remembered what the first temple was like. They cried aloud when they saw the workers lay the foundation of this temple {because they thought that the new temple would not be as beautiful as the first temple}. But the other people shouted joyfully in loud voices. ¹³ Since the shouting was so loud, no one could tell who was shouting and who was crying. All the noise was so great that even people far away could hear it.

Chapter 4

¹ The enemies of {the people of the tribes of} Judah and Benjamin heard that they had returned from Babylonia and were rebuilding the temple for Yahweh, the God of Israel. ² So they went to Zerubbabel the governor and to the other clan leaders and said to them, “We want to help you build the temple. After all, we worship the same God you do. We have been offering sacrifices to him since the time that Esarhaddon, the king of Assyria, brought us here.”

³ But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other Jewish clan leaders replied, “We will not allow you to help us build a temple for our God. No, we alone will build it for Yahweh, the God of Israel, because that is what King Cyrus of Persia, told us to do.”

⁴ Then the people who had been living in that land {before the Israelites returned} tried to make the Jews discouraged and afraid so they would stop building the temple. ⁵ They bribed government officials to prevent the Jews from continuing to work on the temple. They did that all during the time that Cyrus was king of Persia, and right down to the time when Darius became king of Persia.

⁶ Then during the first year that Darius’ son Ahasuerus was king, the enemies of the Jews wrote a letter to him complaining about the people living in the province of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. {It said that they were planning to rebel against the government.}

⁷ Later, when Artaxerxes was king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and their colleagues wrote a letter to him. They had someone write the letter for them in the Aramaic language, using the Aramaic alphabet.

⁸ Rehum, the high commissioner, and Shimshai, the provincial secretary, wrote that letter to King Artaxerxes about what was happening in Jerusalem.

⁹ They stated that the letter was from Rehum the high commissioner, Shimshai the provincial secretary, and their associates, the judges, and other government officials, who were from Persia, Erech, Babylon, and Susa in the district of Elam. ¹⁰ {They also wrote that they represented} the other people groups whom the great and glorious Ashurbanipal had deported and sent to live in cities in Samaria and in the rest of the province west of the Euphrates River. ¹¹ This is what they wrote in the letter that they sent him:

This letter is for King Artaxerxes. It comes from the officials serving you who live in the province west of the Euphrates River.

¹² “Your Majesty, we want you to know that the Jews who came here from your territories are rebuilding the city of Jerusalem. These people are wicked and want to rebel against you. They are now rebuilding the walls {of that city} and repairing the foundations {of its buildings}. ¹³ It is important for you to know that if they rebuild this city and finish building its walls, they will stop paying any taxes. As a result, there will be less money in your treasury.

¹⁴ Now, because we are loyal to you, and because we do not want you to be humiliated, for these reasons we are sending this information to you. ¹⁵ We suggest that you {order your officials to} search among the records that your predecessors kept. {If you do that,} you will find out that the people in this city have always rebelled against their rulers. You will find out that, for a long time, these people have caused trouble for kings and for rulers of provinces. The leaders of this city have started rebellions. That is the reason why {the Babylonian army} destroyed this city. ¹⁶ We want you to know that, if they rebuild this city and finish building its walls, then you will no longer be able to control any of the people in this province west of the Euphrates River.”

¹⁷ {After} the king {read this letter, he} sent this reply to them:

“To you, Rehum, the high commissioner, and Shimshai, the provincial secretary, and your colleagues in Samaria and in other parts of the province that is west of the Euphrates River, I send my greetings.

¹⁸ My officials carefully read the letter that you sent to me aloud to me. ¹⁹ Then I ordered my officials to search the records. I have found out that it is true that the people of Jerusalem have always revolted against their rulers, and that the city is full of people who have rebelled and caused trouble. ²⁰ In the past, powerful kings ruled in Jerusalem. They also ruled over the whole province west of the Euphrates River. They forced the people there to pay them all kinds of taxes.

²¹ So you must command those people to stop rebuilding the city. They will only be allowed to resume if I tell them that they may rebuild it. ²² Do this immediately, because I do not want those people to do anything to harm my interests.”

²³ As soon as messengers read a copy of the letter from King Artaxerxes to Rehum and Shimshai the provincial secretary and their colleagues, they went quickly to the Jews in Jerusalem, and they forced them to stop rebuilding. ²⁴ The result was that the Jews stopped rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. They did not do any more work to rebuild the temple until the second year after Darius became the king of Persia.

Chapter 5

¹ At that time two prophets were giving messages from God to the Jews living in Jerusalem and other cities in Judah. Those prophets were Haggai and Zechariah, the son of Iddo. They spoke their messages representing the God whom the people of Israel worshiped. ² Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak led many other people to start rebuilding the temple of God in Jerusalem again. And God’s prophets Haggai and Zechariah were with them and helping them.

³ But then Tattenai, the governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-Bozenai went to Jerusalem together with some of their officials and said to the people, “Who has permitted you to rebuild this temple?” ⁴ They also asked the Jews to tell them the names of the men who were working on this temple.

⁵ However, God was taking care of the Jewish leaders, and their enemies did not stop them. Instead, the enemies sent King Darius a report and waited for him to send back a decree {that would either give his permission and protection so the Jewish leaders could finish their work on the temple, or else would stop their work completely}.

⁶ This is a copy of the report that Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond-the-River, Shethar-Bozenai, and their associates, the officials of the province Beyond-the-River, sent to King Darius. ⁷ When they sent the report to him, this is what they wrote in it:

“King Darius, we hope everything is going well for you.

⁸ We want you to know that we went to the temple of the great God in the province of Judah. The people are building it with huge stones, and they are putting wooden beams in the walls. They are doing this work very carefully, and they are making good progress.

⁹ So we asked the Jewish leaders, ‘Who has permitted you to rebuild this temple?’ ¹⁰ So that we could inform you, we also asked them their names. We are sending you the names of the men who are their leaders.

¹¹ And this is what they told us in reply. They said, ‘We worship the God who created heaven and earth. We are rebuilding his temple, which a great king of Israel first built many years ago. He made it a splendid building. ¹² But our ancestors did things that caused God, who is in heaven, to become very angry. So God allowed Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, a Chaldean, to conquer them. His armies destroyed that temple, and they took many of the Israelite people to Babylon.

¹³ However, during the first year that Cyrus ruled as king of Babylon, he decreed that our people could rebuild this temple for God. ¹⁴ There had been some gold and silver cups in the temple of God. Nebuchadnezzar had taken them from the temple in Jerusalem and brought them to his temple in Babylon. King Cyrus also removed those cups from that temple and presented them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he appointed as governor of Judah. ¹⁵ The king told him to take these objects and put them back in the temple in Jerusalem. He also decreed that the Jews should rebuild the temple at the place where it had been before. ¹⁶ So Sheshbazzar came here to Jerusalem and supervised the men who laid the foundation of the temple. And since that time, the people have been working on the temple, but they have not finished yet.’

¹⁷ Therefore, your Majesty, please order your officials to search in the place in Babylon where you keep the royal records. Have them find out whether it is true that King Cyrus decreed that the Jews should rebuild this temple of God in Jerusalem. Then you can tell us what you want us to do about this matter.”

Chapter 6

¹ So King Darius commanded someone to search in the place where he kept important records there in Babylonia. ² They found a scroll in the fortress city of Ecbatana in the province of Media {that contained the information that they wanted to know}. This is what that scroll said:

³ “During the first year that Cyrus ruled the empire, he sent out a decree concerning the temple of God that was in Jerusalem. He said that the Jews should build a new temple in the same place where they had previously offered sacrifices. The temple must be made 27 meters high and 27 meters wide. ⁴ He told them to build the temple from large stones. {After putting down} three layers of stones, {the workers should put} a layer of new timber {on top of them}. Money from the royal treasury would pay for this work. ⁵ He also gave orders about the gold and silver objects that had belonged to the temple of God. Nebuchadnezzar had taken these from the temple in Jerusalem and brought them to Babylon. Cyrus told the Jews to take these and bring them back to the temple in Jerusalem. He told them to put each one back in its original place in the temple.”

⁶ {After reading this, King Darius sent this message to the leaders of the enemies of the Jews in Jerusalem:} “This is a message for you, Tattenai, the governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, for you, Shethar-Bozenai, and for all your associates, the officials of that province: Stay away from there! ⁷ Allow them to continue the work of rebuilding that temple of God. Allow the governor of the Jews and their elders to lead their people in building this new temple on the same site as the former temple. ⁸ Furthermore, I command you to help these leaders of the Jews as they rebuild this temple of God. You must be sure to give these men funds so that they can continue the building work. Take the money from my treasury, from the tribute you collect in the province west of the Euphrates River. ⁹ The priests in Jerusalem will tell you what they need. This may include young bulls and rams and lambs to sacrifice as burnt offerings to the God who is in heaven. It may also include wheat, salt, wine, and olive oil {to go with those sacrifices}. Give them those things for every single day. ¹⁰ If you do that, they will be able to offer sacrifices that please the God who is in heaven, and they will pray that God will bless me and my sons.

¹¹ This is what I command about anyone who disobeys this decree. My soldiers will pull a beam from his house {and sharpen one end of it}. Then they will pick that person up {and stick the point through his body} and suspend him in the air on the beam. Then they will completely destroy that person’s house until only a pile of rubble is left, because he disobeyed. ¹² God himself has chosen that city of Jerusalem as the place where people will honor him. May he get rid of any king or any nation that tries to change this decree or destroy that temple in Jerusalem! I, Darius, have made this decree. You must completely obey it.”

¹³ Tattenai, the governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates read the message from King Darius and immediately obeyed what it said. ¹⁴ So the Jewish leaders continued their work of rebuilding the temple. The messages that the prophets Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo preached encouraged them greatly. The people continued building the temple, just as their God had commanded them to do, and just as the Persian kings Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes had decreed. ¹⁵ They finished building this temple by the third day of the month of Adar, during the sixth year that King Darius ruled.

¹⁶ Then the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, everyone else who had returned from Babylonia joyfully celebrated the dedication of this temple. ¹⁷ During the ceremony to dedicate this temple, they sacrificed 100 young bulls, 200 rams, and 400 lambs. They also sacrificed 12 male goats as an offering so that God would forgive the sins of all the people, because that was how many tribes there were in Israel. ¹⁸ Then the Jewish leaders divided the priests and Levites into groups that would take turns serving in the temple of God in Jerusalem. They did this according to what Moses had written {many years previously} in the law.

¹⁹ On the fourteenth day of the first month, the Jews who had returned from Babylonia celebrated the Passover Festival. ²⁰ {To qualify themselves for offering the sacrifices,} all the priests and Levites had already purified themselves by performing the proper rituals. Then they slaughtered the lambs for the benefit of everyone who had returned from Babylonia, for the other priests, and for themselves. ²¹ The Israelite people who had returned from Babylonia had separated themselves from the unclean people around them {who had a different culture, language, and worship. And so they were now able} to worship Yahweh, the God of the Israelite people{, and eat the Passover meal}. ²² They celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread joyfully for seven days. They were happy because Yahweh had changed the attitude of the king of Assyria toward them. As a result, the king had helped them to rebuild the temple of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

Chapter 7

¹ Many years later, while Artaxerxes was the king of Persia, Ezra {went from Babylon to Jerusalem. He was} a descendant of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah. ² Hilkiah was the son of Shallum, who was the son of Zadok, who was a descendant of Ahitub, ³ who was a descendant of Amariah, who was the son of Azariah, who was a descendant of Meraioth, ⁴ who was the son of Zerahiah, who was the son of Uzzi, who was the son of Bukki, ⁵ who was the son of Abishua, who was the son of Phinehas, who was the son of Eleazar, who was the son of Aaron, the {first} Supreme Priest. ⁶ Ezra was a man who knew the laws of Moses very well. Those were the laws that Yahweh, the God of Israel, had given to the Israelite people. {Ezra left Babylon after} the king told people to give him anything he requested. Yahweh his God acted very kindly toward him in these matters.

⁷ Some Israelite people, some priests, some Levites, some musicians, some gatekeepers, and some men who worked in the temple went up with Ezra to Jerusalem. That was during the seventh year that Artaxerxes was the king of Persia. ⁸ Ezra {and the group with him} arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year that Artaxerxes was king.

⁹ Consider this: They started out from Babylon on the first day of the first month. They arrived safely in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month of that year. God certainly acted very kindly toward them. ¹⁰ {During his entire life,} Ezra had devoted himself to studying the laws of Yahweh and understanding how to obey them. He had also taught everything in those laws to the Israelite people {for many years}.

¹¹ This was the decree that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest and scribe who studied what Yahweh had commanded in the law he had given to Israel:

¹² “This letter is from Artaxerxes, the greatest of the kings. I am giving it to Ezra the priest, who has carefully studied the law that the God who is in heaven {gave to the Israelite people}. Greetings. This is what I want you to know.

¹³ I am commanding that any of the Israelite people in my kingdom may go with you to Jerusalem if they want to go. That includes priests and Levites.

¹⁴ {Here are some further arrangements.} I and my seven counselors are sending you to see whether the people of Judah and Jerusalem are following the law of your God that you carry. ¹⁵ We are also telling you to take with you the silver and gold that I and my advisors will give to you. We want you to present it as an offering to the God of Israel who has a temple in Jerusalem. ¹⁶ You should also take any silver and gold that {the people in} the entire province of Babylonia may give to you. Also take the money that the Israelite people and the priests have said that they will give you freely as an offering for building the temple of their God in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ And then right away you should take this money and buy the bulls, rams, and lambs that the priests will burn on the altar of the temple of your God in Jerusalem. Also buy the grain and wine that go with these offerings.

¹⁸ If there is any silver or gold left over {after you buy all those things}, you and your companions may use it to buy whatever you think best. Buy those things that you know your God wants you to buy. ¹⁹ We have also given to you some valuable items for the priests to use in the temple of your God. Take them to your God in Jerusalem. ²⁰ If you need any other things for the temple, {you are permitted to} get the money for those things from the royal treasury.

²¹ And I, King Artaxerxes, personally command this to all the treasurers in the province west of the Euphrates River: Ezra is a priest who has carefully studied the laws of the God who is in heaven. If there is anything that he requests, give it to him quickly. ²² Give him up to three and one-third metric tons of silver, up to 500 bushels of wheat, up to two and one-fifth kiloliters of wine, up to the same amount of olive oil, and all the salt that he requests. ²³ Be sure that you provide whatever the God who is in heaven requires for his temple. We certainly do not want God to be angry with me or with my descendants {who will later be kings}. ²⁴ We are also commanding you not to require tax payments from any of the priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers, or temple servants. {They are exempt from taxes because} they work in the temple of this God. ²⁵ Ezra, you have your God’s wisdom. Use it to appoint men who can settle disputes and interpret the law for the people in the province west of the Euphrates River. They must do this for those who know the laws of your God, and all of you must teach those who do not know them. ²⁶ Everyone who does not obey the law of your God or the law of my government must be punished severely. You may decide whether to execute them or to send them out of the country or to take away all their property or to put them in prison.”

²⁷ Then I, Ezra, said, “Praise Yahweh, the God our ancestors worshiped! He has caused the king to want to honor his temple in Jerusalem. ²⁸ God was kind to me so that the king and his advisors and all his powerful officials were willing to help me. When God helped me in that way, it gave me strength. I have been able to persuade some of the Israelite leaders to return to Jerusalem with me.”

Chapter 8

¹ This is a list of the names of the clan leaders who returned to Jerusalem with me from Babylonia when Artaxerxes was king of Persia:

² From the clan descended from Aaron’s grandson Phinehas, Gershom.

From the clan descended from Aaron’s son Ithamar, Daniel.

From the clan descended from King David, Hattush, ³ a descendant of Shecaniah.

Zechariah and 150 other men in the clan descended from Parosh.

⁴ Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah and 200 other men in the clan descended from Pahath-Moab.

⁵ The son of Jahaziel and 300 other men in the clan descended from Shecaniah.

⁶ Ebed son of Jonathan and 50 other men in the clan descended from Adin.

⁷ Jeshaiah son of Athaliah and 70 other men in the clan descended from Elam.

⁸ Zebadiah son of Michael and 80 other men in the clan descended from Shephatiah.

⁹ Obadiah son of Jehiel and 218 other men in the clan descended from Joab.

¹⁰ The son of Josiphiah and 160 other men in the clan descended from Shelomith.

¹¹ Zechariah son of Bebai and 28 other men in the clan descended from {another man whose name was} Bebai.

¹² Johanan son of Hakkatan and 110 other men in the clan descended from Azgad.

¹³ Three men named Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah and 60 other men from the part of the clan descended from Adonikam that had not returned earlier with Zerubbabel.

¹⁴ Uthai and Zaccur and 70 other men in the clan descended from Bigvai.

¹⁵ Ezra said, “I gathered together all of Jews at the canal that goes from Babylon to Ahava. We set up our tents and stayed there for three days. During that time I {read the lists of names and} found out that we had Israelite people and priests going with us, but no Levites. ¹⁶ So I summoned Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, another man named Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were all leaders of the people. I also summoned Joiarib and {a third man named} Elnathan, who were teachers. ¹⁷ I sent them all to Iddo, a Levite leader who was living in a place called Kasiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo and to the temple servants he also oversaw there. I wanted them to send us some men who would {go with us to} work in the temple.

¹⁸ Because God acted kindly toward us, they brought us a very wise man named Sherebiah and 18 of his sons and other relatives. He was a descendant of Mahli, who was a grandson of Levi, the son of Israel. ¹⁹ They also sent to us Hashabiah, along with Jeshaiah, and 20 of his brothers and their sons. Both men were descendants of Merari {the son of Levi}. ²⁰ They also sent 220 men to work in the temple. King David and his officials had apppointed their ancestors to assist the Levites. I listed the names of all those men.

²¹ There alongside the Ahava Canal, I announced a time for all of us to fast {and pray}. I told them that we should humble ourselves in the presence of our God. We prayed that God would protect us while we traveled and also protect our children and our possessions. ²² Previously we had told the king that our God takes care of all those who truly trust in him, but that he becomes very angry with those who refuse to obey him. So I would have been ashamed to ask the king to send soldiers and men riding on horses to protect us from our enemies while we were traveling along the road. ²³ So we fasted and asked God to protect us. We prayed to him, and he answered our prayer.

²⁴ I chose 12 of the leaders of the priests, along with Sherebiah and Hashabiah and ten other Levites. ²⁵ I assigned them to transport the gifts of silver and gold and the other valuable items to Jerusalem. The king and his advisors and other officials, and the Israelite people who were living in Babylonia, had contributed these for the temple of our God. ²⁶ As I gave these various items to those priests, I weighed each of the items. This was the total: about 21 and one half metric tons of silver, items made from silver that altogether weighed three and one third metric tons, three and one third metric tons of gold, ²⁷ 20 gold bowls that altogether weighed about eight and one-half kilograms, and two items made of beautiful polished bronze that were as valuable as ones made of gold. ²⁸ I said to those priests and Levites, ‘You are specially set apart for Yahweh. These valuable things are special to him in the same way. The people themselves gave the silver and the gold voluntarily as an offering to Yahweh, the God our ancestors worshiped. ²⁹ So guard them carefully. When we arrive in Jerusalem, weigh them out in the presence of the leading priests and Levites and the other Israelite leaders. {They will then put them} in the storerooms in the new temple.’

³⁰ So the priests and Levites took all the gifts of silver and gold and the other valuable items from me so that they could transport them to the temple in Jerusalem.

³¹ On the twelfth day of the first month, we left the Ahava Canal and started to travel to Jerusalem. Our God took care of us, and while we traveled, he prevented our enemies and bandits from attacking us. ³² After we arrived in Jerusalem, we rested for three days. ³³ Then on the fourth day we went to the temple. There some of the temple leaders weighed and accepted the silver and gold and the other items. These leaders included two priests, Meremoth the son of Uriah and Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and two Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. ³⁴ They counted everything, and wrote down how much each item weighed, and wrote a description of each one as they received it.

³⁵ We who had gone into exile in Babylonia but had now returned from captivity offered burnt offerings to our God: 12 bulls, for all the Israelite people, 96 rams and 77 lambs. We also sacrificed 12 goats to atone for the sins that all the people had committed. All these sacrifices were completely burned up on the altar as offerings to Yahweh.

³⁶ Some of us who had returned from Babylonia took the letter that the king had given to us to the governors and other officials of the province west of the Euphrates River. {After they read the letter,} they did all that they were able to do for us Israelite people and for the temple of God.”

Chapter 9

¹ “After that, the Jewish leaders came to me and said, ‘Many Israelites, and even some priests and Levites, have not kept themselves from doing what the other people who are living in this land do. They are doing the same disgusting things that those people do. They are from the Canaanite, Hittite, Perizzite, Jebusite, Ammonite, Moabite, Egyptian, and Amorite people groups. ² Specifically, some Israelite men have married women who are not Israelites, and they have allowed their sons to do the same thing. So we, God’s sacred people, are no longer distinct from the other groups that live here. In fact, some of our leaders and officials have been the first ones to betray God in this way!’

³ When I heard that, I tore my clothes and my robe. I pulled out some hair from my head and my beard. Then I sat down. I was in a daze. ⁴ Many of the Jews still respected God’s commandment not to marry foreign women, and they were upset that some of the returned exiles had disobeyed it. They gathered around me as I sat there silently for the rest of that day.

⁵ But when it was time to offer the evening sacrifice, I stopped sitting there in silence. Still wearing those torn clothes, I got on my knees and lifted my hands in prayer to Yahweh, my God, ⁶ and this is what I prayed: ‘My God, I am very ashamed even to approach you in prayer. Indeed, the sins that we Israelites have committed are very great. It is as though our sins have risen up higher than our heads. As for our guilt for committing those sins, it is as though it rises up to the heavens. ⁷ Since the time of our ancestors until now, we have been very guilty. That is the reason why you, God, allowed the armies of the kings of other lands to defeat us and our kings and our priests. They killed some of our people, they captured some, they robbed some, and they caused them all to be disgraced, just as we are today.

⁸ But just recently, Yahweh our God, you have shown us kindness. You have allowed some of us to survive. You have brought us into a safe situation in this sacred place. You have revived our spirits and given us some freedom, even though the Persian king is still our master. ⁹ Yes, we are like slaves, but even so, you have not abandoned us. Instead, you have caused the kings of Persia to act very kindly toward us. They have given us some freedom and allowed us to rebuild your temple, which had been destroyed. They have allowed us to live safely here in the province of Judah and the city of Jerusalem.

¹⁰ Our God, what more can we say now? In spite of all that you have done for us, still we have disobeyed your commands. ¹¹ They are the commands that you gave to your servants, the prophets, for us. They told us that the land that we would occupy was a filthy land because of the filthy things that the people did who lived there. They said that those people did horrible things that filled the land from one end to the other with filth. ¹² They said that we should not allow our daughters to marry their sons! We should not allow our sons to marry their daughters! We should not ever try to cause things to go well for those people! They said that if we obeyed these instructions, our nation would be strong. We would enjoy the good crops that grow on the land, and the land would belong to our descendants forever.

¹³ But you punished us because we became very guilty for doing wicked things. Still, you have not punished us as much as we deserve. I say this because you, our God, have allowed some of us to survive. ¹⁴ However, some of us are again disobeying your commands. We are marrying women from the people groups that do those detestable things. If we continue to do that, we would make you so angry that you would destroy us completely.

¹⁵ Yahweh, God of Israel, you always do the right thing! Because you are generous, you have allowed some of us to survive right down to the present day. We acknowledge that we are guilty of disobedience and so because of what we have done, we do not deserve to approach you in prayer.’”

Chapter 10

¹ Ezra was kneeling down in front of the temple and praying and crying, he was confessing {the sins that the people had committed}. While he was doing that, a large crowd of Israelites, men and women and children, gathered around him because they were also very distressed.

² Then Shecaniah, the son of Jehiel from the clan of Elam, spoke up. He said this to Ezra: “We have disobeyed our God. Some of us have married women who are not Israelites. They come from the other people groups that live around us. But we can still hope {that Yahweh will be merciful to} us Israelite people. ³ Here is what I suggest. We will do what you tell us to do, along with the others who respect what our God has commanded. We will do what God told us in his laws. We will make an agreement with our God. We will all agree to divorce our foreign wives and send them away with their children. ⁴ Since it is your responsibility to tell us what to do, get going, and be courageous, and do what is necessary. We will support you.”

⁵ So Ezra took action and demanded that the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all the other Israelite people solemnly declare that they would do what Shecaniah said that they should do. So they all solemnly promised to do that. ⁶ Then Ezra went away from in front of the temple and went to the room where Jehohanan the son of Eliashib lived. When he went there, he did not eat or drink anything. He was still grieving because some of the Israelites who had returned from Babylonia had not faithfully obeyed God’s laws.

⁷ Then the leaders sent a message to all the people in the province of Judan and the city of Jerusalem. They told them that all those who had returned from Babylonia had to come to Jerusalem immediately. ⁸ The leaders announced these penalties for anyone who did not arrive within three days. They would take away all their property, and they would banish them from the community of Israelites. ⁹ So within three days, by the 20th day of the ninth month, all the people from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin gathered in Jerusalem. They were sitting in the courtyard in front of the temple. They were trembling because it was raining hard and {because they were worried that they would be punished} for what they had done.

¹⁰ Then Ezra stood up and said to them, “Some of you men have committed an act of disobedience against God. You have married women who are not Israelites. By doing that, you have made us Israelite people more guilty than we were before. ¹¹ But now, confess your sin to Yahweh, the God your ancestors worshiped, and do what he commands. Separate yourselves from the people of other nations by divorcing your foreign wives.”

¹² The whole group answered, shouting loudly, “Yes, we must do what you have said. ¹³ But we are a very large group, and it is raining hard. We cannot stand outside in this rain. And since many of us have committed this sin, it will take a long time to make things right again. ¹⁴ So allow our leaders to decide what we should all do. Tell everyone in each city who has married a woman who is not an Israelite to come at a time that you decide. They should come with the elders and judges from their city. If we do that, our God will stop being angry with us because of what we have done.”

¹⁵ Within the crowd, Jonathan son of Asahel, and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah disagreed with this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai, a descendant of Levi, supported them. ¹⁶ But all the others who had returned from Babylonia said that they would do it. So Ezra chose men who were leaders from each of the clans and wrote down their names. On the first day of the tenth month these men met to investigate the matter. ¹⁷ By the first day of the first month of the next year they had finished determining which men had married women who were not Israelites.

¹⁸ Some of the priests had married foreign women. These included some descendants of Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers. Their names were Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. ¹⁹ They solemnly promised to divorce their wives, and they each sacrificed a ram as an offering to atone for their sins.

²⁰ In the clan of Immer there were Hanani and Zebadiah.

²¹ In the clan of Harim there were Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah.

²² In the clan of Pashhur there were Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

²³ The Levites who had married foreign women were Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (whose other name was Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

²⁴ There was Eliashib the musician. Among the temple guards there were Shallum, Telem, and Uri.

²⁵ This is a list of the names of the other Israelites {who had married foreign wives}:

In the clan of Parosh there were Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah, and Benaiah.

²⁶ In the clan of Elam there were Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah.

²⁷ In the clan of Zattu there were Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza.

²⁸ In the clan of Bebai there were Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

²⁹ In the clan of Bani there were Meshullam, Malluk, Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal Jeremoth.

³⁰ In the clan of Pahath-Moab there were Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.

³¹ In the clan of Harim there were Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³² Benjamin, Malluk, and Shemariah.

³³ In the clan of Hashum there were Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

³⁴ In the clan of Bani there were Maadai, Amram, Uel, ³⁵ Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi, ³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu.

³⁸ In the clan of Binnui there were Shimei, ³⁹ Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, ⁴⁰ Maknadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹ Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴² Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

⁴³ In the clan of Nebo there were Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, and Benaiah. ⁴⁴ All of those men had married women who were not Israelites. Some of them were women who had borne children.