Ezra 8 Cross References - MLV

¹ Now these are the heads of their fathers and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king: ² of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush; ³ of the sons of Shecaniah, of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty; ⁴ of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah and with him two hundred males; ⁵ of the sons of Shecaniah, the son of Jahaziel and with him three hundred males; ⁶ and of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan and with him fifty males; ⁷ and of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah and with him seventy males; ⁸ and of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael and with him eighty males; ⁹ of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel and with him two hundred and eighteen males; ¹⁰ and of the sons of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah and with him a hundred and sixty males; ¹¹ and of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai and with him twenty-eight males; ¹² and of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan and with him a hundred and ten males;
¹³ And of the sons of Adonikam, who were the last and these are their names: Eliphelet, Jeuel and Shemaiah and with them sixty males; ¹⁴ and of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud and with them seventy males.
¹⁵ And I gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava and there we encamped three days. And I viewed the people and the priests and found there none of the sons of Levi. ¹⁶ Then I sent for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah and for Elnathan and for Jarib and for Elnathan and for Nathan and for Zechariah and for Meshullam, chief men, also for Joiarib and for Elnathan, who were teachers.
¹⁷ And I sent them forth to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia and I told them what they should say to Iddo, and his brothers the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.
¹⁸ And according to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen, ¹⁹ and Hashabiah and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty, ²⁰ and of the Nethinim, whom David and the rulers had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim. All of them were mentioned by name.
²¹ Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us and for our little ones and for all our substance. ²² For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all those who seek him, for good, but his power and his wrath are against all those who forsake him. ²³ So we fasted and besought our God for this and he was entreated by us.
²⁴ Then I set apart twelve of the chiefs of the priests, even Sherebiah, Hashabiah and ten of their brothers with them, ²⁵ and weighed to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king and his counselors and his rulers and all Israel there present, had offered. ²⁶ I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talants of silver and a hundred talants of silver vessels, a hundred talants of gold, ²⁷ and twenty bowls of gold, of a thousand 128-grain weights and two vessels of fine bright brass, desirable as gold.
²⁸ And I said to them, You* are holy to Jehovah and the vessels are holy and the silver and the gold are a free-will offering to Jehovah, the God of your* fathers. ²⁹ Watch and keep them, until you* weigh them before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites and the rulers of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of Jehovah. ³⁰ So the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.
³¹ Then 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 the ambush by the way.
³² And we came to Jerusalem and abode there three days. ³³ And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levite, ³⁴ the whole by number and by weight. And all the weight was written at that time.
³⁵ The sons of the captivity, who came out of exile, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve male-goats for a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to Jehovah. ³⁶ And they delivered the king's commissions to the king's satraps and to the governors beyond the River. And they furthered the people and the house of God.

³³ And all their villages that were all around the same cities, to Baal. These were their habitations and they have their genealogy.

¹ So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies. And behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. And Judah was carried away captive to Babylon for their transgression.

³⁴ These were heads of fathers of the Levites, throughout their genealogy, chief men; these dwelt at Jerusalem.

³¹ These likewise cast lots even as their brothers the sons of Aaron in the presence of David the king and Zadok and Ahimelech and the heads of the fathers of the priests and of the Levites, the fathers of the chief even as those of his younger brother.

³² And his brothers, men of valor, were two thousand and seven hundred, heads of fathers, whom king David made overseers over the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of the Manassites, for every matter pertaining to God and for the affairs of the king.

¹² The whole number of the heads of fathers, even the mighty men of valor, was two thousand and six hundred.

⁵ Then the heads of fathers of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites, even all whose spirit God had stirred, rose up to go up to build the house of Jehovah which is in Jerusalem.

⁶² These sought their registration among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found. Therefore they were deemed polluted and put away from the priesthood.

⁷ And some of the sons of Israel and of the priests and the Levites and the singers and the gatekeepers and the Nethinim, went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

¹³ I make a decree, that all those of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites, in my realm, who are minded of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with you.

⁷⁰ And some from among the heads of fathers gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury a thousand 128-grain weights of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests' garments. ⁷¹ And some of the heads of fathers gave into the treasury of the work twenty thousand 128-grain weights of gold and two thousand and two hundred pounds of silver.

¹ Now these were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn, Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second, Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess;

²² And the sons of Shecaniah : Shemaiah. And the sons of Shemaiah: Hattush and Igal and Bariah and Neariah and Shaphat, six.

³ And the sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses and Miriam. And the sons of Aaron: Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ⁴ Eleazar fathered Phinehas, Phinehas fathered Abishua, ⁵ and Abishua fathered Bukki and Bukki fathered Uzzi, ⁶ and Uzzi fathered Zerahiah and Zerahiah fathered Meraioth, ⁷ Meraioth fathered Amariah and Amariah fathered Ahitub, ⁸ and Ahitub fathered Zadok and Zadok fathered Ahimaaz, ⁹ and Ahimaaz fathered Azariah and Azariah fathered Johanan, ¹⁰ and Johanan fathered Azariah, (he it is who executed the priest's office in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem), ¹¹ and Azariah fathered Amariah and Amariah fathered Ahitub, ¹² and Ahitub fathered Zadok and Zadok fathered Shallum, ¹³ and Shallum fathered Hilkiah and Hilkiah fathered Azariah, ¹⁴ and Azariah fathered Seraiah and Seraiah fathered Jehozadak. ¹⁵ And Jehozadak went into captivity when Jehovah carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

¹ And the divisions of the sons of Aaron were these. The sons of Aaron: Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ² But Nadab and Abihu died before their father and had no sons. Therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest's office. ³ And David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their ordering in their service. ⁴ And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar. And thus were they divided: of the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen heads of fathers' houses and of the sons of Ithamar, according to their fathers' houses, eight.
⁵ Thus they were divided by lot, one sort with another. For there were rulers of the sanctuary and rulers for God, both of the sons of Eleazar and of the sons of Ithamar. ⁶ And Shemaiah the son of Nethanel the scribe, who was of the Levites, wrote them in the presence of the king and the princes and Zadok the priest and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar and the heads of the fathers of the priests and of the Levites, one fathers' house being taken for Eleazar and one taken for Ithamar.

³ The sons of Parosh, two thousand a hundred seventy-two.

⁸ the sons of Parosh, two thousand a hundred and seventy-two;

¹⁴ The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

⁶ The sons of Pahath-moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve.

¹¹ the sons of Pahath-moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand and eight hundred and eighteen;

¹⁵ The sons of Adin, four hundred fifty-four.

²⁰ the sons of Adin, six hundred fifty-five;

¹⁶ Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,

⁷ The sons of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty-four.

³¹ The sons of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty-four.

¹² the sons of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty-four;

³⁴ the sons of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty-four;

⁴ The sons of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy-two.

⁹ the sons of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy and two;

⁴ And in Jerusalem certain of the sons of Judah and of the sons of Benjamin dwelt.
Of the sons of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the sons of Perez;

¹¹ The sons of Bebai, six hundred twenty-three.

²⁸ And of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, Athlai.

¹⁶ the sons of Bebai, six hundred twenty-eight;

¹² The sons of Azgad, a thousand two hundred twenty-two.

¹⁷ the sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred twenty-two;

¹³ The sons of Adonikam, six hundred sixty-six.

¹⁸ the sons of Adonikam, six hundred sixty-seven;

¹⁴ The sons of Bigvai, two thousand fifty-six.

¹⁹ the sons of Bigvai, two thousand sixty-seven;

¹² Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

²⁴ Also we certify to you*, that concerning any of the priests and Levites, the singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God, it will not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll, upon them.

² of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush;

²¹ Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us and for our little ones and for all our substance.

³¹ Then 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 the ambush by the way.

¹ We sat down there by the rivers of Babylon, yes, we wept when we remembered Zion.

¹ Now it happened in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

¹⁵ Then I came to those of the captivity at Tel-abib, who dwelt by the river Chebar and to where they dwelt. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.

¹³ And on the Sabbath day, we went forth outside the city beside a river, where we supposed it to be a place of prayer, and having sat down and we were speaking to the women who had come together.

¹¹ And God said to him, Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, neither have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice,

³² And of the sons of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do, the heads of them were two hundred. And all their brothers were at their commandment.

¹⁴ And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a discreet counselor, they cast lots and his lot came out northward.

¹² Huram said moreover, Praise Jehovah, the God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, endued with discretion and understanding, that should build a house for Jehovah and a house for his kingdom.

¹³ And of the sons of Adonikam, who were the last and these are their names: Eliphelet, Jeuel and Shemaiah and with them sixty males;

¹⁸ And according to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen,

²¹ And of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah and Elijah and Shemaiah and Jehiel and Uzziah.

³⁹ and Shelemiah and Nathan and Adaiah,

⁶ Because Jehovah gives wisdom. Out of his mouth is knowledge and understanding.

⁵ Purpose in the heart of man is deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.

² For the transgression of a land many are the rulers of it. But by men of understanding and knowledge the state will be prolonged.

²¹ And he changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.

⁷ Perceive the things I am saying; for the Lord may give you intelligence in all things.

²⁰ Now we know that the Son of God has come and has given us perception, in order that we might know the true one and we are in the true one, that is, in his son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and the everlasting life.

¹⁵ And you will speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you* what you* will do,

²² And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and before his sons. As Jehovah had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
²³ And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ This is what belongs to the Levites: From twenty-five years old and upward they will go in to wait upon the service in the work of the tent of meeting. ²⁵ And from the age of fifty years they will cease waiting upon the work and will serve no more, ²⁶ but will minister with their brothers in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge and will do no service. Thus will you do to the Levites concerning their charges.

⁶ And I, behold, I have taken your* brothers the Levites from among the sons of Israel. They are a gift to you*, given to Jehovah, to do the service of the tent of meeting.

¹⁸ I will raise up a prophet for them from among their brothers, like you. And I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them all that I will command him.

³ And go in to the king and speak on this manner to him. So Joab put the words in her mouth.

¹⁹ And the king said, Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?
And the woman answered and said, As your soul lives, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken, for your servant Joab, he commanded me and he put all these words in the mouth of your handmaid.

³ And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward. And their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand. ⁴ Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of Jehovah. And six thousand were officers and judges, ⁵ and four thousand were gatekeepers and four thousand praised Jehovah with the instruments which David said I made to praise Him.
⁶ And David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

²⁶ And also the Levites will no more have need to carry the tabernacle and all the vessels of it for the service of it.
²⁷ For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered, from twenty years old and upward.
²⁸ For their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of Jehovah, in the courts and in the chambers and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God, also ²⁹ for the showbread and for the fine flour for a meal offering, whether of unleavened wafers, or of what is baked in the pan, or of what is soaked and for all manner of measure and size. ³⁰ And to stand every morning to thank and praise Jehovah and likewise at evening. ³¹ And to offer all burnt offerings to Jehovah, on the Sabbaths, on the new moons and on the set feasts, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before Jehovah. ³² And that they should keep the charge of the tent of meeting and the charge of the holy place and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brothers, for the service of the house of Jehovah.

⁴³ The Nethinim : the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,

⁵⁸ All the Nethinim and the sons of Solomon's servants were three hundred ninety-two.

⁹ Then Jehovah put forth his hand and touched my mouth. And Jehovah said to me, Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.

¹⁹ Therefore Jehovah says thus: If you return, then I will bring you again that you may stand before me. And if you take forth the precious from the vile, you will be as my mouth. They will return to you, but you will not return to them.

⁵ Because of this, I left you in Crete, in order that you might amend the things which are deficient and should designate elders in every city, as I commanded you.

²⁰ And the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the Levite families according to their fathers' houses.

¹⁹ The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. And these are the Levite families according to their fathers.

⁶ this Ezra went up from Babylon. And he was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which Jehovah, the God of Israel, had given. And the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of Jehovah his God upon him.

²⁸ and has extended loving kindness to me before the king and his counselors and before all the king's mighty rulers. And I was strengthened according to the hand of Jehovah my God upon me and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.

¹⁶ Then I sent for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah and for Elnathan and for Jarib and for Elnathan and for Nathan and for Zechariah and for Meshullam, chief men, also for Joiarib and for Elnathan, who were teachers.

²² For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all those who seek him, for good, but his power and his wrath are against all those who forsake him.

²⁴ Then I set apart twelve of the chiefs of the priests, even Sherebiah, Hashabiah and ten of their brothers with them,

⁸ and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the castle which is for the palace and for the wall of the city and for the house that I will enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

⁷ Also Jeshua and Bani and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law. And the people stood in their place.

⁴ Then Jeshua and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, stood up upon the stairs of the Levites and cried with a loud voice to Jehovah their God. ⁵ Then the Levites, Jeshua and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and praise Jehovah your* God from everlasting to everlasting. And praise your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

²⁴ And the chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers opposite them, to praise and give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, watch next to watch.

⁶ Acknowledge him in all your ways and he will direct your paths.

³ Through wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established,

¹⁵ And I will give you* shepherds according to my heart, who will feed you* with knowledge and understanding.

²⁰ And in every matter of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters who were in all his realm.

²⁰ Brethren, do not become children in your mindsets, (but be infants in malice), but become mature in your mindsets.

¹ The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

¹⁶ The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath and Merari.

¹⁷ After him the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani, repaired.
Next to him Hashabiah, the ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district.

¹¹ Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,

² Now the first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were Israelites, the priests, the Levites and the Nethinim.

¹⁷ And I sent them forth to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia and I told them what they should say to Iddo, and his brothers the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.

³ Yes, I am also requesting you, genuine colleague, help these women, who contended together with me in the good-news, also with Clement, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

²⁹ And it will be an everlasting statute to you*. In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you* will afflict your* souls and will do no manner of work, the home-born, or the stranger who travels among you*.

³¹ It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you* and you* will afflict your* souls. It is an everlasting statute.

²⁹ For whatever soul it is who will not be afflicted in that same day, he will be cut off from his people.

³ And why does Jehovah bring us to this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey. Were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

³¹ But your* little ones, that you* said would be a prey, them I will bring in and they will know the land which you* have rejected.

²⁶ Then all the sons of Israel and all the people, went up and came to Bethel and wept and sat there before Jehovah and fasted that day until evening and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Jehovah.

⁶ And they gathered together to Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before Jehovah and fasted on that day and said there, We have sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel judged the sons of Israel in Mizpah.

³ And Jehoshaphat was afraid and set himself to seek for Jehovah. And he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

¹⁵ And I gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava and there we encamped three days. And I viewed the people and the priests and found there none of the sons of Levi.

⁸ Lead me, O Jehovah, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before my face.

² Out of the mouth of babes and nursing-babes you have perfected praise, because of your adversaries, that you might make the enemy and the avenger cease.

² Let the redeemed of Jehovah say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary, ³ and gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
⁴ They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way. They found no city of habitation. ⁵ Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
⁶ Then they cried to Jehovah in their trouble and he delivered them out of their distresses. ⁷ He also led them by a straight way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
⁸ O that men would praise Jehovah for his loving kindness and for his wonderful works to the sons of men!

⁸ Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, because I trust in you. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, because I lift up my soul to you.
⁹ Deliver me, O Jehovah, from my enemies. I flee to you to hide me.
¹⁰ Teach me to do your will, because you are my God. Your Spirit is good, lead me in the land of uprightness.

²¹ And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk you* in it when you* turn to the right hand and when you* turn to the left.

⁸ And a highway will be there and a way. And it will be called The way of holiness. The unclean will not pass over it, but it will be for the redeemed, the wayfaring men. Yes fools will not go-astray in it.

¹⁶ And I will bring the blind by a way that they do not know. I will lead them in paths that they do not know. I will make darkness light before them and crooked places straight. These things I will do and I will not forsake them.

¹⁰ They will not hunger nor thirst, neither will the heat nor sun kill* them. For he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide them even by springs of water.

³ Why have we fasted, they say and you do not see? We have afflicted our soul and you take no knowledge. Behold, in the day of your* fast you* find pleasure and exact from all your* laborers.

⁵ Is such the fast that I have chosen, the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast and an acceptable day to Jehovah?

²³ O Jehovah, I know that the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

⁸ Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the outermost parts of the earth and with them the blind man and the lame man, the woman with child and she who travails with child together. They will return here a great company.
⁹ They will come with weeping. And I will lead them with supplications. I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they will not stumble. For I am a father to Israel and Ephraim is my firstborn.

⁴ In those days and in that time, says Jehovah, the sons of Israel will come, they and the sons of Judah together. They will go on their way weeping and will seek Jehovah their God. ⁵ They will inquire concerning Zion with their faces toward it, saying, Come and join yourselves to Jehovah in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.

¹⁴ Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the old men and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of Jehovah your* God and cry to Jehovah.

¹² Yet even now, says Jehovah, turn to me with all your* heart and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning. ¹³ And tear your* heart and not your* garments and turn to Jehovah your* God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness and relents of the evil. ¹⁴ Who knows whether he will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal offering and a drink offering to Jehovah your* God?
¹⁵ Blow the trumpet in Zion. Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. ¹⁶ Gather the people. Sanctify the assembly. Assemble the old men. Gather the sons and those who suck the breasts. Let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber and the bride out of her closet. ¹⁷ Let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep between the porch and the altar and let them say, Spare your people, O Jehovah and do not give your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, Where is their God?
¹⁸ Then Jehovah was jealous for his land and had pity on his people.

⁵ And the people of Nineveh believed God and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

¹³ And they were bringing to him little children, in order that he might touch them, but the disciples were rebuking those bringing them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, Allow the little children to come to me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. ¹⁵ Assuredly I am saying to you, Whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a little child, he may never enter into it. ¹⁶ And having wrapped them in his arms, and laying his hands upon them, he was blessing them.

³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children and to all those at afar off, as many as the Lord our God may call.

¹⁶ When you* transgress the covenant of Jehovah your* God, which he commanded you* and go and serve other gods and bow down yourselves to them, then the anger of Jehovah will be kindled against you* and you* will perish quickly from the good land which he has given to you*.

⁹ And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind, for Jehovah searches all hearts and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

² And he went out to meet Asa and said to him, Hear me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. Jehovah is with you* while you* are with him. And if you* seek him, he will be found of you*, but if you* forsake him, he will forsake you*.

⁹ For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong to those whose heart is perfect toward him. In this you have done foolishly, for from hereafter you will have wars.

⁹ For upon the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.

⁸ Your hand will find out all your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate you. ⁹ You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger. Jehovah will swallow them up in his wrath and the fire will devour them.

¹⁸ Behold, the eye of Jehovah is upon those who fear him, upon those who hope in his loving kindness, ¹⁹ to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine.

¹⁵ The eyes of Jehovah are toward the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. ¹⁶ (The face of Jehovah is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.)

²² Jehovah redeems the soul of his servants and none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

¹¹ Who knows the power of your anger and your wrath according to the fear that is due to you?

¹⁰ Say you* of the righteous, that it is well, for they will eat the fruit of their practices. ¹¹ Woe to the wicked! It is ill with him, for what his hands have done will be done to him.

²⁵ Jehovah is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

² I will utterly consume all things from the face of the ground, says Jehovah. ³ I will consume man and beast. I will consume the birds of the heavens and the fishes of the sea and the stumbling blocks with the wicked. And I will cut off man from the face of the ground, says Jehovah.
⁴ And I will stretch out my hand upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place and the names of the idolatrous priest with the pagan priests, ⁵ and those who worship the host of heaven upon the housetops and those who worship, who swear to Jehovah and swear by Malcam, ⁶ and those who are turned back from following Jehovah and those who have not sought Jehovah, nor inquired after him.

²⁸ Now we know that all things work together toward good, to those who love God, to those who are an invited one according to his purpose.

¹⁵ But I used none of these things, and I do not write these things in order that it may become so with me; for it would be good for me rather to die, than in order that anyone should make my boasting void.

¹⁴ Because if I have boasted in anything on your behalf to him, I was not ashamed, but as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also, our boasting in Titus became truth.

³⁸ But my righteous one will be living from faith and if he retreats back, my soul does not delight in him.’

¹² because the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and his ears are toward their supplication. But the face of the Lord is against those who are practicing evil.

²⁹ But from there you* will seek Jehovah your God. And you will find him when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

²⁰ And they were helped against them and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand and all that were with them, for they cried to God in the battle and he was entreated by them because they put their trust in him.

¹² And when he was in distress, he besought Jehovah his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. ¹³ And he prayed to him. And he was entreated of him and heard his supplication and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that Jehovah he was God.

¹ Now in the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel were assembled with fasting and with sackcloth and earth upon them.

¹⁶ Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan and fast you* for me and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I also and my maidens will fast in like manner. And so I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law. And if I perish, I perish.

¹⁸ If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear. ¹⁹ But truly God has heard. He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
²⁰ Kneel to God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor his loving kindness from me.

²² And Jehovah will kill* Egypt, slaying and healing and they will return to Jehovah. And he will be entreated by them and will heal them.

¹² And you* will call upon me and you* will go and pray to me and I will listen to you*.
¹³ And you* will seek me and find me when you* will search for me with all your* heart.

³ Call to me and I will answer you and will show you great things and difficult, which you do not know.

³ And I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

⁷ Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will be finding; knock and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who is asking, receives; and the one who is seeking, finds; and to the one who is knocking, it will be opened.

³⁷ and she had been a widow approximately eighty four years), who did not withdraw from the temple, giving-divine service with fasts and supplications night and day.

³⁰ And Cornelius said, Four days till this hour, I was fasting and praying in the ninth hour in my house, and behold, a man stood in my sight in bright apparel,

¹⁸ And according to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen, ¹⁹ and Hashabiah and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty,

⁸ even those Cyrus king of Persia brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer and numbered them to Sheshbazzar, the ruler of Judah.

¹⁴ Forasmuch as you are sent from the king and his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your hand, ¹⁵ and to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶ and all the silver and gold that you will find in all the province of Babylon, with the free-will offering of the people and of the priests, offering willingly, for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem.

³³ And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levite,

²⁰ We are avoiding this thing, lest anyone might blame us in the matter of this lavish donation which is served by us; ²¹ planning-for good things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

⁸ Furthermore brethren, as many things as are true, as many as are honorable, as many as are righteous, as many as are pure, as many as are lovely, as many as have good-repute; if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, reason on these things.

⁹ And this is the number of them: thirty platters of gold, a thousand platters of silver, twenty-nine knives, ¹⁰ thirty bowls of gold, four hundred and ten silver bowls of a second sort and a thousand other vessels. ¹¹ All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar brought up when those of the captivity were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.

² The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how they are esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!

⁶ They will be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the offerings of Jehovah made by fire, the bread of their God. Therefore they will be holy.
⁷ They will not take a woman who is a prostitute, or profane, neither will they take a woman put away from her husband, for he is holy to his God.
⁸ You will sanctify him therefore, for he offers the bread of your God. He will be holy to you, for I Jehovah, who sanctify you*, am holy.

² Speak to Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the sons of Israel, which they sanctify to me and that they not profane my holy name. I am Jehovah.
³ Say to them, Whoever he is of all your* seed throughout your* genealogy, that approaches to the holy things, which the sons of Israel sanctify to Jehovah, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul will be cut off from before me. I am Jehovah.

⁴ This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, about the most holy things:
⁵ When the camp sets forward, Aaron will go in and his sons and they will take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. ⁶ And will put on it a covering of certain skin and will spread over it a cloth all of blue and will put in the staves of it.
⁷ And upon the table of showbread they will spread a cloth of blue and put on it the dishes and the spoons and the bowls and the cups with which to pour out. And the continual bread will be on it. ⁸ And they will spread upon them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of certain skin and will put in the staves of it.
⁹ And they will take a cloth of blue and cover the lamp-stand of the light and its lamps and its snuffers and its snuff dishes and all the oil vessels of it, with which they minister to it. ¹⁰ And they will put it and all the vessels of it within a covering of certain skin and will put it upon the frame.
¹¹ And upon the golden altar they will spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of certain skin and will put in the staves of it.
¹² And they will take all the vessels of ministry, with which they minister in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of certain skin and will put them on the frame.
¹³ And they will take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth on it. ¹⁴ And they will put upon it all the vessels of it, with which they minister about it: the censors, the forks and the shovels and the basins, all the vessels of the altar. And they will spread upon it a covering of certain skin and put in the staves of it.
¹⁵ And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp is set forward, after that, the sons of Kohath will come to bear it, but they will not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting.

¹⁹ but thus do to them, that they may live and not die, when they approach to the most holy things. Aaron and his sons will go in and appoint for them each one to his service and to his burden, ²⁰ but they will not go in to see the sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die.

¹³ And his oblation was one silver platter, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal offering;

⁸⁴ This was the dedication of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the rulers of Israel: twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, twelve golden spoons, ⁸⁵ each silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels and each bowl seventy. All the silver of the vessels was two thousand and four hundred shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. ⁸⁶ The twelve golden spoons, full of incense, weighed ten shekels apiece, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. All the gold of the spoons was a hundred and twenty shekels. ⁸⁷ All the oxen for the burnt offering were twelve bullocks, the rams twelve, the male-lambs a year old twelve and their meal offering and the males of the goats for a sin offering twelve. ⁸⁸ And all the oxen for the sacrifice of peace offerings was twenty-four bullocks, the rams sixty, the male-goats sixty, the male-lambs a year old sixty. This was the dedication of the altar after it was anointed.

⁸ And of Levi he said, Your Thummim and your Urim are with your holy man, whom you proved at Massah, with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah,

⁴⁸ And Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of Jehovah: the golden altar and the table upon it the showbread was, of gold; ⁴⁹ and the lamp-stands, five on the right side and five on the left, before the oracle, of pure gold; and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold; ⁵⁰ and the cups and the snuffers and the basins and the spoons and the censors, of pure gold; and the hinges, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place and for the doors of the house, namely, of the temple, of gold.
⁵¹ Thus all the work that king Solomon worked in the house of Jehovah was finished. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated–the silver and the gold and the vessels–and put them in the treasuries of the house of Jehovah.

²⁸ For their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of Jehovah, in the courts and in the chambers and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God, also

¹⁴ And when they had made an end, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, from which were made vessels for the house of Jehovah, even vessels with which to minister and to offer and spoons and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of Jehovah continually all the days of Jehoiada.

⁷ Also Cyrus the king brought out the vessels of the house of Jehovah, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem and had put in the house of his gods, ⁸ even those Cyrus king of Persia brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer and numbered them to Sheshbazzar, the ruler of Judah.

¹¹ Depart, depart, go out from there. Touch no unclean thing. Go out of the midst of her. Cleanse yourselves, you* who bear the vessels of Jehovah.

²⁰ And of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasures of the house of God and over the treasures of the dedicated things. ²¹ The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, the heads of the fathers belonging to Ladan the Gershonite: Jehieli. ²² The sons of Jehieli: Zetham and Joel his brother, over the treasures of the house of Jehovah. ²³ Of the Amramites, of the Izharites, of the Hebronites, of the Uzzielites: ²⁴ Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was ruler over the treasures. ²⁵ And his brothers: of Eliezer came Rehabiah his son and Jeshaiah his son and Joram his son and Zichri his son and Shelomoth his son.
²⁶ This Shelomoth and his brothers were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which David the king and the heads of the fathers, the captains over thousands and hundreds and the captains of the army, had dedicated.

³³ And on the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levite, ³⁴ the whole by number and by weight. And all the weight was written at that time.

³⁴ It is like a man, going-abroad, having left his house and given authority to his bondservants, and his work to each one, and he commanded the doorkeeper in order that he should watch. ³⁵ Therefore watch; for you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether at evening or midnight or rooster’s crowing or in the morning;

³¹ Hence watch, remembering that for three years I ceased not from admonishing each one of you^\'b0 every day with tears.

⁵ But you, be sober in all things, suffer evil treatment, do the work of an evangelist, fully assure your service.

² Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold and the silver for the things of silver and the brass for the things of brass, the iron for the things of iron and wood for the things of wood, onyx stones and stones to be set, stones for inlaid work and of different colors and all manner of precious stones and marble stones in abundance.
³ Moreover also, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, seeing that I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, I give it to the house of my God over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,

⁹ For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God I will seek your good.

¹³ The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the fir tree, the pine and the box tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary. And I will make the place of my feet glorious.

²¹ Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us and for our little ones and for all our substance. ²² For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all those who seek him, for good, but his power and his wrath are against all those who forsake him.

¹⁹ He will deliver you in six troubles. Yes, in seven there will no evil touch you. ²⁰ In famine he will redeem you from death and in war from the power of the sword. ²¹ You will be hid from the scourge of the tongue. Neither will you be afraid of destruction when it comes.
²² At destruction and dearth you will laugh, nor will you be afraid of the beasts of the earth. ²³ For you will be in league with the stones of the field and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you. ²⁴ And you will know that your tent is in peace and you will visit your fold and will miss nothing.

⁹ Because you, O Jehovah, are my refuge! You have made the Most High your habitation.
¹⁰ There will no evil befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent, ¹¹ because he will give his messengers charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. ¹² They will bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread upon the lion and adder. The young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
¹⁴ Because he has set his love upon me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on high because he has known my name.

¹⁰ Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
¹¹ 1 Behold, all those who are incensed against you will be put to shame and confounded. Those who strive with you will be as nothing and will perish. ¹² You will seek them and will not find them, even those who contend with you. Those who war against you will be as nothing and as a thing of nothing. ¹³ For I, Jehovah your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, Do not fear, I will help you.
¹⁴ Do not fear, you worm Jacob and you* men of Israel. I will help you, says Jehovah and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

³ asking for a favor against him, that he might send for him to come to Jerusalem; making a plot to assassinate him on the road.

²² Therefore, having obtained the assistance which is from God, I am standing to this day, testifying both to the little and to the great, saying nothing outside of what both the prophets and Moses said was about to happen.

⁸ And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. ⁹ For upon the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.

¹¹ So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.

¹⁴ of gold by weight for the vessels of gold, for all vessels of every kind of service; of silver for all the vessels of silver by weight, for all vessels of every kind of service, ¹⁵ by weight also for the lamp-stands of gold and for the lamps of it, of gold, by weight for every lamp-stand and for the lamps of it and for the lamp-stands of silver, silver by weight for every lamp-stand and for the lamps of it, according to the use of every lamp-stand, ¹⁶ and the gold by weight for the tables of showbread, for every table and silver for the tables of silver, ¹⁷ and the forks and the basins and the cups, of pure gold and for the golden bowls by weight for every bowl and for the silver bowls by weight for every bowl, ¹⁸ and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight and gold for the pattern of the chariot, even the cherubim that spread out their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of Jehovah.

²⁶ I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talants of silver and a hundred talants of silver vessels, a hundred talants of gold,

³⁰ So the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.

⁴ And next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz repaired.
And next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel repaired.
And next to them Zadok the son of Baana repaired.

²¹ After him Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz repaired another portion, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib.

²⁴ After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another portion, from the house of Azariah to the turning of the wall and to the corner.

⁵ Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

⁹ And the Levites: namely, Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,

¹ And Jehovah called to Moses and spoke to him out of the tent of meeting, saying, ² Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, When any man of you* offers an oblation to Jehovah, you* will offer your* oblation of the cattle, even of the herd and of the flock.
³ If his oblation be a burnt offering of the herd, he will offer it a male without blemish. He will offer it at the door of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before Jehovah. ⁴ And he will lay his hand upon the head of the burnt offering and it will be accepted for him to make atonement for him. ⁵ And he will kill the bullock before Jehovah and Aaron's sons, the priests, will present the blood and sprinkle the blood all around upon the altar that is at the door of the tent of meeting. ⁶ And he will skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. ⁷ And the sons of Aaron the priest will put fire upon the altar and lay wood in order upon the fire.

²⁷ one young bullock, one ram, one male-lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;

³¹ Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now you* have consecrated yourselves to Jehovah. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of Jehovah. And the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings.
³² And the number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was seventy bullocks, a hundred rams and two hundred lambs. All these were for a burnt offering to Jehovah.

¹ Now these are the sons of the province who went up out of the captivity of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, every man to his city,

¹⁷ And they offered at the dedication of this house of God a hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs. And for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male-goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

¹⁰ Because you, O God, have proved us. You have tried us as silver is tried.
¹¹ You brought us into the net. You laid a great burden upon our loins. ¹² You caused men to ride over our heads. We went through fire and through water. But you brought us out into a wealthy place.
¹³ I will come into your house with burnt offerings. I will pay you my vows, ¹⁴ which my lips uttered and my mouth spoke, when I was in distress. ¹⁵ I will offer to you burnt offerings of fat ones, with the incense of rams. I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.

¹² What shall I render to Jehovah for all his benefits toward me? ¹³ I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of Jehovah. ¹⁴ I will pay my vows to Jehovah, yes, in the presence of all his people.
¹⁵ Precious in the sight of Jehovah is the death of his holy ones. ¹⁶ O Jehovah, truly I am your servant. I am your servant, the son of your handmaid. You have loosed my bonds.
¹⁷ I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call upon the name of Jehovah. ¹⁸ I will pay my vows to Jehovah, yes, in the presence of all his people, ¹⁹ in the courts of Jehovah's house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise Jehovah.

⁷⁴ having been fearlessly rescued out of the hand of our enemies, to give-divine service to him ⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life in his sight.

⁷ And in the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his companions, wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. And the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian character and set forth in the Syrian tongue. ⁸ Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this way.
⁹ Then wrote Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their companions, the Dinaites and the Apharsathchites, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, (that is the Elamites), ¹⁰ and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over and set in the city of Samaria and in the rest beyond the River and so forth.
¹¹ This is a copy of the letter that they sent to Artaxerxes the king:
Your servants the men beyond the River and so forth. ¹² Be it known to the king, that the Jews who came up from you have come to us to Jerusalem. They are building the rebellious and the evil city and have finished the walls and repaired the foundations. ¹³ Be it known now to the king, that, if this city be built and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll and in the end it will be hurtful to the kings.
¹⁴ Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore we have sent and certified to the king, ¹⁵ that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. So you will find in the book of the records and know that this city is a rebellious city and hurtful to kings and provinces. And that they have made sedition within the same of old time, for which cause this city was laid waste.
¹⁶ We certify to the king that, if this city be built and the walls finished, by this means you will have no portion beyond the River.
¹⁷ Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the chancellor and to Shimshai the scribe and to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria and in the rest beyond the River:
Peace and so forth. ¹⁸ The letter which you* sent to us has been plainly read before me. ¹⁹ And I decreed and search has been made. And it is found that this city of old time has made insurrection against kings and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. ²⁰ There have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem who have ruled over all the country beyond the River and tribute, custom and toll, was paid to them.
²¹ You* make now a decree to cause these men to cease and that this city not be built until a decree will be made by me. ²² And take heed that you* are not slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?
²³ Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews and made them cease by force and power.

⁶ The copy of the letter that Tattenai, the governor beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his companions the Apharsathchites, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king; ⁷ they sent a letter to him, in which was written thus:
To Darius the king, all peace. ⁸ Be it known to the king, that we went into the province of Judah to the house of the great God, which is built with great stones and timber is laid in the walls. And this work goes on with diligence and prospers in their hands.
⁹ Then we asked those elders and said to them thus: Who gave you* a decree to build this house and to finish this wall? ¹⁰ Also, we asked them their names, to certify to you, that we might write the names of the men who were at the head of them. ¹¹ And thus they returned us an answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. And are building the house that was built these many years ago, which a great King of Israel built and finished. ¹² But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath. He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried the people away into Babylon.
¹³ But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of God. ¹⁴ And also the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, those Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar whom he had made governor. ¹⁵ And he said to him, Take these vessels. Go put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem and let the house of God be built in its place.
¹⁶ Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God which is in Jerusalem. And since that time even until now it has been in building and yet it is not completed.
¹⁷ Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure-house, which is there at Babylon, whether it is so, that a decree was made from Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.

¹³ Then Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai and their companions, because of what Darius the king had sent, did accordingly with all diligence.

²¹ And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers who are beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, will require of you*, it is done with all diligence, ²² to a hundred talants of silver and to a hundred measures of wheat and to a hundred baths of wine and to a hundred baths of oil and salt without prescribing how much.
²³ Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done exactly for the house of the God of heaven; for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? ²⁴ Also we certify to you*, that concerning any of the priests and Levites, the singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God, it will not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll, upon them.

³ And all the rulers of the provinces and the satraps and the governors and those who did the king's business, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.

⁶ Also the foreigners who join themselves to Jehovah, to minister to him and to love the name of Jehovah, to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it and holds fast my covenant, ⁷ even them I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted upon my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

²⁷ Now while planning to go into Achaia, the brethren exhorted him and wrote to the disciples to accept him when he came. He supported many who had believed through the favor of God;

¹⁶ And the earth helped the woman and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth.