1:1 And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word
 of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished,
 Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he
 made a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also in
 writing, saying,
1:2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the
 earth has Jehovah the God of the heavens given to me, and he
 has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in
 Judah.
1:3 Whosoever there is among you of all his people, his God be
 with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah,
 and build the house of Jehovah the God of Israel -- he is God
 -- which is at Jerusalem.
1:4 And whosoever remains in any place where he sojourns, let
 the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and
 with goods, and with beasts, besides the voluntary offering for
 the house of God which is at Jerusalem.
1:5 And the chief fathers of Judah and Benjamin rose up, and the
 priests, and the Levites, even all those whose spirit God had
 stirred, to go up to build the house of Jehovah which is at
 Jerusalem.
1:6 And all they that were about them strengthened their hands
 with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, and with
 beasts, and with precious things, besides all that was
 willingly offered.
1:7 And king Cyrus brought forth the vessels of the house of
 Jehovah, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of
 Jerusalem and had put in the house of his god.
1:8 And Cyrus king of Persia brought them forth by the hand of
 Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar
 the prince of Judah.
1:9 And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a
 thousand chargers of silver, nine-and-twenty knives,
1:10 thirty basons of gold, silver basons of a second [sort]
 four hundred and ten, [and] other vessels a thousand.
1:11 All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand
 four hundred. The whole did Sheshbazzar bring up, when they of
 the captivity were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
2:1 And these are the children of the province, that went up out
 of the captivity of those that had been carried away, whom
 Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon,
 and who came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one to his
 city,
2:2 who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Saraiah,
 Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The
 number of the men of the people of Israel:
2:3 The children of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and
 seventy-two.
2:4 The children of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two.
2:5 The children of Arah, seven hundred and seventy-five.
2:6 The children of Pahath-Moab, of the children of Jeshua [and]
 Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve.
2:7 The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred and fifty-four.
2:8 The children of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five.
2:9 The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty.
2:10 The children of Bani, six hundred and forty-two.
2:11 The children of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three.
2:12 The children of Azgad, a thousand two hundred and
 twenty-two.
2:13 The children of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-six.
2:14 The children of Bigvai, two thousand and fifty-six.
2:15 The children of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four.
2:16 The children of Ater of [the family of] Hezekiah,
 ninety-eight.
2:17 The children of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-three.
2:18 The children of Jorah, a hundred and twelve.
2:19 The children of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three.
2:20 The children of Gibbar, ninety-five.
2:21 The children of Bethlehem, a hundred and twenty-three.
2:22 The men of Netophah, fifty-six.
2:23 The men of Anathoth, a hundred and twenty-eight.
2:24 The children of Azmaveth, forty-two.
2:25 The children of Kirjath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven
 hundred and forty-three.
2:26 The children of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one.
2:27 The men of Michmas, a hundred and twenty-two.
2:28 The men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred and twenty-three.
2:29 The children of Nebo, fifty-two.
2:30 The children of Magbish, a hundred and fifty-six.
2:31 The children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred and
 fifty-four.
2:32 The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty.
2:33 The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and
 twenty-five.
2:34 The children of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five.
2:35 The children of Senaah, three thousand six hundred and
 thirty.
2:36 The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of
 Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three.
2:37 The children of Immer, a thousand and fifty-two.
2:38 The children of Pashhur, a thousand two hundred and
 forty-seven.
2:39 The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.
2:40 The Levites: the children of Jeshua and of Kadmiel, of the
 children of Hodaviah, seventy-four.
2:41 The singers: the children of Asaph, a hundred and
 twenty-eight.
2:42 The children of the doorkeepers: the children of Shallum,
 the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of
 Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, in all a
 hundred and thirty-nine.
2:43 The Nethinim: the children of Ziha, the children of
 Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth,
2:44 the children of Keros, the children of Siaha, the children
 of Padon,
2:45 the children of Lebanah, the children of Hagabah, the
 children of Akkub,
2:46 the children of Hagab, the children of Shamlai, the
 children of Hanan,
2:47 the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, the children
 of Reaiah,
2:48 the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children
 of Gazzam,
2:49 the children of Uzza, the children of Phaseah, the children
 of Besai,
2:50 the children of Asnah, the children of Meunim, the children
 of Nephusim,
2:51 the children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the
 children of Harhur,
2:52 the children of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the
 children of Harsha,
2:53 the children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the
 children of Thamah,
2:54 the children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha.
2:55 The children of Solomon's servants: the children of Sotai,
 the children of Sophereth, the children of Peruda,
2:56 the children of Jaalah, the children of Darkon, the
 children of Giddel,
2:57 the children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the
 children of Pochereth-Hazzebaim, the children of Ami.
2:58 All the Nethinim and the children of Solomon's servants,
 three hundred and ninety-two.
2:59 And these are they that went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha,
 Cherub-Addan, Immer; but they could not shew their fathers'
 house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel.
2:60 The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobijah, the
 children of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two.
2:61 And of the children of the priests: the children of
 Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai; who
 took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and
 was called after their name.
2:62 These sought their genealogical register, but they were not
 found; therefore were they, as polluted, removed from the
 priesthood.
2:63 And the Tirshatha said to them that they should not eat of
 the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim
 and with Thummim.
2:64 The whole congregation together was forty-two thousand
 three hundred and sixty,
2:65 besides their servants and their maids, of whom there were
 seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two
 hundred singing men and singing women.
2:66 Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six; their mules
 two hundred and forty-five;
2:67 their camels four hundred and thirty-five; the asses six
 thousand seven hundred and twenty.
2:68 And some of the chief fathers, when they came to the house
 of Jehovah which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house
 of God to set it up in its place.
2:69 They gave after their ability to the treasure of the work
 sixty-one thousand darics of gold, and five thousand pounds of
 silver, and one hundred priests' coats.
2:70 And the priests, and the Levites, and [some] of the people,
 and the singers, and the doorkeepers, and the Nethinim dwelt in
 their cities, and all Israel in their cities.
3:1 And when the seventh month came, and the children of Israel
 were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to
 Jerusalem.
3:2 Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren
 the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his
 brethren, and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer up
 burnt-offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses the
 man of God.
3:3 And they set the altar on its base; for fear was upon them
 because of the people of the countries; and they offered up
 burnt-offerings on it to Jehovah, the morning and evening
 burnt-offerings.
3:4 And they held the feast of tabernacles as it is written, and
 [offered] daily burnt-offerings by number, according to the
 ordinance, as the duty of every day required;
3:5 and afterwards the continual burnt-offering, and those of
 the new moons, and of all the set feasts of Jehovah that were
 consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a
 voluntary offering to Jehovah.
3:6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer
 up burnt-offerings to Jehovah. But the foundation of the temple
 of Jehovah was not [yet] laid.
3:7 And they gave money to the masons and to the carpenters; and
 meat and drink and oil to the Zidonians and to the Tyrians, to
 bring cedar-trees from Lebanon to the sea at Joppa, according
 to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.
3:8 And in the second year of their coming to the house of God
 at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of
 Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of
 their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that
 had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem; and they appointed
 the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to superintend
 the work of the house of Jehovah.
3:9 And Jeshua stood up, his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and
 his sons, the sons of Judah, as one [man], to superintend the
 workmen in the house of God; [also] the sons of Henadad, their
 sons and their brethren, the Levites.
3:10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of
 Jehovah, they set the priests in their apparel, with trumpets,
 and the Levites the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise
 Jehovah according to the directions of David king of Israel.
3:11 And they sang alternately together in praising and giving
 thanks to Jehovah: For he is good, for his loving-kindness
 [endureth] for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted
 with a great shout to the praise of Jehovah, because the
 foundation of the house of Jehovah was laid.
3:12 But many of the priests and Levites and chief fathers, the
 ancient men that had seen the first house, wept with a loud
 voice, [when] the foundation of this house was laid in their
 sight; and many shouted aloud for joy.
3:13 And the people could not discern the noise of the shout of
 joy from the noise of the weeping of the people; for the people
 shouted with a great shout, and the noise was heard afar off.
4:1 And the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the
 children of the captivity were building the temple to Jehovah
 the God of Israel;
4:2 and they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief fathers, and
 said to them, We would build with you; for we seek your God, as
 ye; and we have sacrificed to him since the days of Esar-haddon
 king of Assyria, who brought us up hither.
4:3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the chief fathers
 of Israel said to them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build
 a house to our God, but we alone will build to Jehovah the God
 of Israel, as king Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.
4:4 And the people of the land weakened the hands of the people
 of Judah, and troubled them in building;
4:5 and they hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their
 purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the
 reign of Darius king of Persia.
4:6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his
 reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of
 Judah and Jerusalem.
4:7 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 Aramaic,
 and interpreted in Aramaic.
4:8 Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter
 against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king after this sort:
4:9 Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest
 of their companions, the Dinaites, and the Apharsathchites, the
 Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians,
 the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites,
4:10 and the rest of the peoples whom the great and noble
 Osnappar brought over and settled in the cities of Samaria, and
 the rest [of the country] on this side the river, and so forth.
4:11 This is the copy of the letter that they sent to him: To
 Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men on this side the
 river, and so forth.
4:12 Be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from thee
 unto us have come to Jerusalem; they are building the
 rebellious and the bad city, and they complete the walls and
 join up the foundations.
4:13 Be it known therefore unto the king, that, if this city be
 built and the walls be completed, they will not pay tribute,
 tax, and toll, and in the end it will bring damage to the
 kings.
4:14 Now, since we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not
 right for us to see the king's injury, therefore have we sent
 and informed the king;
4:15 that search may be made in the book of the annals of thy
 fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the annals and know
 that this city is a rebellious city, which has done damage to
 kings and provinces, and that they have raised sedition within
 the same of old time, for which cause this city was destroyed.
4:16 We inform the king that if this city be built and its walls
 be completed, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this
 side the river.
4:17 The king sent an answer to Rehum the chancellor, and
 Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions that
 dwell in Samaria, and the other places beyond the river: Peace,
 and so forth.
4:18 The letter that ye sent to us has been read before me
 distinctly.
4:19 And I gave orders, and search has been made, and it has
 been found that this city of old time has made insurrection
 against the kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been
 raised therein.
4:20 And there have been mighty kings over Jerusalem, who have
 ruled over all beyond the river; and tribute, tax, and toll
 were paid to them.
4:21 Now give order to make these men to cease, and that this
 city be not built, until the order shall be given from me;
4:22 and take heed that ye fail not to do this: why should harm
 grow to the damage of the kings?
4:23 As soon as the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read
 before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions,
 they went up in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them
 cease by force and power.
4:24 Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at
 Jerusalem; and it ceased until the second year of the reign of
 Darius king of Persia.
5:1 Now the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son
 of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews that were in Judah and
 Jerusalem; in the name of the God of Israel [did they prophesy]
 to them.
5:2 Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the
 son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at
 Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of God, who helped
 them.
5:3 At that time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the
 river, and Shethar-boznai, and their companions, and said thus
 to them: Who gave you orders to build this house and to
 complete this wall?
5:4 And they said to them after this manner: What are the names
 of the men that build this building?
5:5 But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews,
 and they did not make them cease till the matter came to
 Darius; and then they returned answer by letter concerning it.
5:6 The copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side
 the river, and Shethar-boznai, and his companions the
 Apharsachites, who were on this side the river, sent to Darius
 the king.
5:7 They sent a report to him in which was written thus: To
 Darius the king, all peace!
5:8 Be it known to the king that we went into the province of
 Judah, to the house of the great God, which is being built with
 great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work is
 being carried on with diligence, and prospers in their hand.
5:9 Then asked we those elders: thus we said to them, Who gave
 you orders to build this house and to complete this wall?
5:10 We asked their names also, to inform thee, that we might
 write the names of the men that were the chief of them.
5:11 And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the
 servants of the God of the heavens and the earth, and build the
 house that was built these many years ago; and a great king of
 Israel built and completed it.
5:12 But after that our fathers had provoked the God of the
 heavens to wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar
 king of Babylon, the Chaldean, and he destroyed this house, and
 carried the people away unto Babylon.
5:13 But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, king Cyrus
 gave orders to build this house of God.
5:14 And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of
 God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was at
 Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, those did
 king Cyrus take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were
 delivered to one Sheshbazzar by name, whom he had appointed
 governor.
5:15 And he said to him, Take these vessels, go, carry them into
 the temple that is at Jerusalem, and let the house of God be
 built in its place.
5:16 Then came the same Sheshbazzar, [and] laid the foundation
 of the house of God which is at Jerusalem; and since that time
 even until now has it been in building, and it is not
 completed.
5:17 And now, if it seem good to the king, let search be made in
 the king's treasure-house, which is there at Babylon, whether
 it be so, that orders were given by king Cyrus to build this
 house of God at Jerusalem; and let the king send his pleasure
 to us concerning this matter.
6:1 Then king Darius gave orders, and search was made in the
 house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in
 Babylon.
6:2 And there was found at Achmetha in the fortress that is in
 the province of Media a roll, and therein was a record thus
 written:
6:3 In the first year of king Cyrus, king Cyrus made a decree
 [concerning] the house of God at Jerusalem: Let the house be
 built for a place where they offer sacrifices, and let its
 foundations be solidly laid; its height sixty cubits, its
 breadth sixty cubits,
6:4 [with] three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber;
 and let the expenses be given out of the king's house:
6:5 and also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of
 God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is at
 Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought again
 to the temple that is at Jerusalem, in their place; and thou
 shalt put [them] in the house of God.
6:6 Therefore Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shethar-boznai,
 and your companions the Apharsachites, who are beyond the
 river, be ye far from thence:
6:7 let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of
 the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in
 its place.
6:8 Moreover, I give orders what ye shall do to these elders of
 the Jews, for the building of this house of God: that of the
 king's goods, of the tribute beyond the river, expenses be
 diligently given to these men, that they be not hindered.
6:9 And that which they have need of, both young bullocks and
 rams and lambs, for the burnt-offerings to the God of the
 heavens, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the
 appointment of the priests that are at Jerusalem, let it be
 given them day by day without fail;
6:10 that they may present sweet odours to the God of the
 heavens, and pray for the life of the king and of his sons.
6:11 Also I have given order that whosoever shall alter this
 rescript, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being
 set up, let him be hanged thereon, and let his house be made a
 dunghill for this.
6:12 And the God that has caused his name to dwell there
 overthrow every king and people that shall put forth their hand
 to alter [or] to destroy this house of God which is at
 Jerusalem. I Darius have given [this] order; let it be done
 diligently.
6:13 Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river,
 Shethar-boznai, and their companions, because of that which
 king Darius had sent, did so diligently.
6:14 And the elders of the Jews built; and they prospered
 through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the
 son of Iddo. And they built and completed [it] according to the
 commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the
 commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of
 Persia.
6:15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month
 Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of king Darius.
6:16 And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites,
 and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the
 dedication of this house of God with joy;
6:17 and they presented 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 he-goats, according to
 the number of the tribes of Israel.
6:18 And they set the priests in their classes, and the Levites
 in their divisions, for the service of God, which is at
 Jerusalem: as it is written in the book of Moses.
6:19 And the children of the captivity held the passover upon
 the fourteenth of the first month.
6:20 For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves as
 one [man]: they were all pure; and they killed the passover for
 all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the
 priests, and for themselves.
6:21 And the children of Israel that were come back out of
 captivity, and all such as had separated themselves to them
 from the filthiness of the nations of the land, to seek Jehovah
 the God of Israel, did eat;
6:22 and they kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with
 joy; for Jehovah had made them joyful, and turned the heart of
 the king of Assyria to them, to strengthen their hands in the
 work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
7:1 And after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes, king of
 Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of
 Hilkijah,
7:2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,
7:3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,
7:4 the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,
7:5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar,
 the son of Aaron the chief priest,
7:6 -- this Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready 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.
7:7 (And there went up [some] of the children of Israel, and of
 the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the
 doorkeepers, and the Nethinim, to Jerusalem, in the seventh
 year of Artaxerxes the king.)
7:8 And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in
 the seventh year of the king.
7:9 For upon the first of the first month the project of going
 up from Babylon was determined on, and on the first of the
 fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of
 his God upon him.
7:10 For Ezra had directed his heart to seek the law of Jehovah
 and to do it, and to teach in Israel the statutes and the
 ordinances.
7:11 And this is the copy of the letter that king Artaxerxes
 gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a scribe of the words of
 the commandments of Jehovah, and of his statutes to Israel:
7:12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, an
 accomplished scribe of the law of the God of the heavens, and
 so forth.
7:13 I have given orders that all they of the people of Israel,
 and of their priests and the Levites, in my realm, who are
 disposed to go to Jerusalem, go with thee.
7:14 Because thou art sent by the king, and by his seven
 counsellors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem,
 according to the law of thy God which is in thy hand;
7:15 and to carry the silver and gold which the king and his
 counsellors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose
 habitation is at Jerusalem,
7:16 and all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the
 province of Babylon, besides the voluntary offering of the
 people, and of the priests, who offer willingly for the house
 of their God which is at Jerusalem.
7:17 Therefore thou shalt buy diligently with this money
 bullocks, rams, lambs, with their oblations and their
 drink-offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of
 your God which is at Jerusalem.
7:18 And whatever shall seem good to thee and to thy brethren to
 do with the rest of the silver and the gold, that do according
 to the will of your God.
7:19 And the vessels that have been given thee for the service
 of the house of thy God, deliver before the God of Jerusalem.
7:20 And whatever more shall be needful for the house of thy God
 which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the
 king's treasure house.
7:21 And I, I Artaxerxes the king, do give orders to all the
 treasurers that are beyond the river, that whatever Ezra the
 priest and scribe of the law of the God of the heavens shall
 require of you, it be done diligently,
7:22 unto a hundred talents 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].
7:23 Whatever is commanded by the God of the heavens, let it be
 carefully done for the house of the God of the heavens; for why
 should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his
 sons?
7:24 Also we inform you, as regards all the priests and Levites,
 singers, doorkeepers, Nethinim, and ministers of this house of
 God, it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, tax, and toll
 upon them.
7:25 And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, which is in
 thy hand, set magistrates and judges who may judge all the
 people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of
 thy God; and teach ye him that knows [them] not.
7:26 And whosoever will not do the law of thy God and the law of
 the king, let judgment be executed diligently upon him, whether
 unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or
 to imprisonment.
7:27 Blessed be Jehovah the God of our fathers, who has put
 [such a thing] as this in the king's heart, to beautify the
 house of Jehovah which is at Jerusalem;
7:28 and has extended mercy to me before the king and his
 counsellors, and before all the king's mighty princes. And I
 was strengthened, as the hand of Jehovah my God was upon me;
 and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with
 me.
8:1 And these are the chief fathers, and their genealogy, who
 went up with me from Babylon in the reign of Artaxerxes the
 king.
8:2 Of the children of Phinehas, Gershom; of the children of
 Ithamar, Daniel; of the children of David, Hattush;
8:3 of the children of Shecaniah, of the children of Parosh,
 Zechariah, and with him were registered by genealogy of the
 males a hundred and fifty.
8:4 Of the children of Pahath-Moab, Elihoenai the son of
 Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males.
8:5 Of the children of Shechaniah, the son of Jahaziel, and with
 him three hundred males.
8:6 And of the children of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and
 with him fifty males.
8:7 And of the children of Elam, Isaiah the son of Athaliah, and
 with him seventy males.
8:8 And of the children of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of
 Michael, and with him eighty males.
8:9 Of the children of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with
 him two hundred and eighteen males.
8:10 And of the children of Shelomith, the son of Josiphiah, and
 with him a hundred and sixty males.
8:11 And of the children of Bebai, Zechariah the son of Bebai,
 and with him twenty-eight males.
8:12 And of the children of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan,
 and with him a hundred and ten males.
8:13 And of the children of Adonikam, the last ones, whose names
 are these: Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty
 males.
8:14 And of the children of Bigvai, Uthai and Zabbud, and with
 them seventy males.
8:15 And I gathered them together at the river that runs to
 Ahava; and there we encamped three days; and I surveyed the
 people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi
 there.
8:16 And 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, and for Joiarib
 and for Elnathan, men of understanding.
8:17 And I gave them a commission to Iddo the chief, at the
 place Casiphia, and I put words in their mouths to say to Iddo
 [and] his brethren the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that
 they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.
8:18 And by the good hand of our God upon us, they brought us a
 man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi,
 the son of Israel, namely, Sherebiah, with his sons and his
 brethren, eighteen;
8:19 and Hashabiah, and with him Isaiah of the sons of Merari,
 his brethren and their sons, twenty;
8:20 and of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had
 appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and
 twenty Nethinim: all of them were expressed by name.
8:21 And I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we
 might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right
 way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
8:22 For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers
 and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way; for we
 had spoken to the king saying, The hand of our God is upon all
 them for good that seek him; but his power and his anger is
 against all them that forsake him.
8:23 And we fasted, and besought our God for this; and he was
 entreated of us.
8:24 And I separated twelve of the chiefs of the priests,
 Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,
8:25 and I weighed to them the silver and the gold and the
 vessels, the heave-offering for the house of our God, which the
 king and his counsellors and his princes, and all Israel
 present, had offered.
8:26 And I weighed into their hand six hundred and fifty talents
 of silver; and silver vessels a hundred talents, [and] of gold
 a hundred talents;
8:27 and twenty basons of gold, of a thousand darics; and two
 vessels of shining copper, precious as gold.
8:28 And I said to them, Ye are holy unto Jehovah; the vessels
 also are holy; and the silver and the gold is a voluntary
 offering to Jehovah the God of your fathers.
8:29 Watch and keep [them] until ye weigh them before the chiefs
 of the priests and the Levites, and the chiefs of the fathers
 of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of
 Jehovah.
8:30 And the priests and the Levites received by weight the
 silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem
 unto the house of our God.
8:31 And we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth 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 of
 such as lay in wait by the way.
8:32 And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days.
8:33 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 Urijah the priest; and with him was Eleazar
 the son of Phinehas; and with them were Jozabad the son of
 Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites:
8:34 the whole by number and by weight; and all the weight was
 written down at that time.
8:35 The children of those that had been carried away, who had
 come out of the captivity, presented burnt-offerings to the God
 of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety-six rams,
 seventy-seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering: all
 for a burnt-offering to Jehovah.
8:36 And they delivered the king's edicts to the king's satraps,
 and to the governors on this side the river. And they furthered
 the people and the house of God.
9:1 Now when these things were completed, the princes came to
 me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests and the
 Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the
 lands, according to their abominations, [even] of the
 Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the
 Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites;
9:2 for they have taken of their daughters for themselves and
 for their sons, and have mingled the holy seed with the peoples
 of the lands; and the hand of the princes and rulers has been
 chief in this unfaithfulness.
9:3 And when I heard this thing, I rent my mantle and my
 garment, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard,
 and sat down overwhelmed.
9:4 Then were assembled to me every one that trembled at the
 words of the God of Israel, because of the unfaithfulness of
 those that had been carried away; and I sat overwhelmed until
 the evening oblation.
9:5 And at the evening oblation I arose up from my humiliation;
 and with my mantle and my garment rent, I fell on my knees, and
 spread out my hands to Jehovah my God,
9:6 and said: O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my
 face to thee, my God; for our iniquities are increased over
 [our] head, and our trespass is grown up to the heavens.
9:7 Since the days of our fathers, we have been in great
 trespass to this day; and for our iniquities we, our kings, our
 priests, have been given into the hand of the kings of the
 lands, to the sword, and to captivity, and to spoil, and to
 confusion of face, as it is this day.
9:8 And now for a little space there hath been favour from
 Jehovah our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give
 us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes,
 and give us a little reviving in our bondage.
9:9 For we are bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our
 bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us before the kings of
 Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God
 and to repair the ruins thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah
 and in Jerusalem.
9:10 And now, what shall we say, our God, after this? for we
 have forsaken thy commandments,
9:11 which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets,
 saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess [it], is an
 unclean land through the filthiness of the peoples of the
 lands, through their abominations with which they have filled
 it from one end to another through their uncleanness.
9:12 Now therefore give not your daughters to their sons,
 neither take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace
 or their prosperity for ever; that ye may be strong, and eat
 the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your
 children for ever.
9:13 And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and
 for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished
 us less than our iniquities [deserve], and hast given us such
 deliverance as this,
9:14 should we again break thy commandments, and join in
 affinity with the peoples of these abominations? wouldest thou
 not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there
 should be no remnant nor any to escape?
9:15 Jehovah, God of Israel, thou art righteous; for we are a
 remnant that is escaped, as [it is] this day. Behold, we are
 before thee in our trespasses; for there is no standing before
 thee because of this.
10:1 And while Ezra prayed, and made confession, weeping and
 falling down before the house of God, there were gathered to
 him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women
 and children; for the people wept very much.
10:2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam,
 answered and said to Ezra, We have acted unfaithfully toward
 our God, and have taken foreign wives of the peoples of the
 land; yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing.
10:3 And now let us make a covenant with our God to put away all
 the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the
 counsel of [my] lord, and of those that tremble at the
 commandments of our God; and let it be done according to the
 law.
10:4 Arise, for this matter is incumbent on thee, and we will be
 with thee: be of good courage, and do [it].
10:5 Then Ezra arose, and made the chiefs of the priests, of the
 Levites, and of all Israel, to swear that they would do
 according to this word. And they swore.
10:6 And Ezra arose from before the house of God, and went into
 the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came
 thither, he ate no bread and drank no water; for he mourned
 because of the unfaithfulness of them that had been carried
 away.
10:7 And they made proclamation in Judah and Jerusalem to all
 the children of the captivity, that they should gather
 themselves together unto Jerusalem;
10:8 and that whosoever would not come within three days,
 according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his
 substance should be confiscated, and himself separated from the
 congregation of those that had been carried away.
10:9 Then were all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered
 together at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth
 month, on the twentieth of the month; and all the people sat in
 the open space of the house of God, trembling because of the
 matter, and because of the pouring rain.
10:10 And Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, Ye have
 acted unfaithfully, and have taken foreign wives, to increase
 the trespass of Israel.
10:11 And now make confession to Jehovah the God of your
 fathers, and do his pleasure, and separate yourselves from the
 peoples of the land, and from the foreign wives.
10:12 And the whole congregation answered and said with a loud
 voice, Yes, it is for us to do according to thy words.
10:13 But the people are many, and it is a time of pouring rain,
 and it is not possible to stand without: neither is this a work
 for one day or two; for we are many that have transgressed in
 this thing.
10:14 Let now our princes, while this matter is going on, stand
 for all the congregation, and let all those that have taken
 foreign wives in our cities come at the appointed times, and
 with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof,
 until the fierce anger of our God be turned from us.
10:15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of
 Tikvah stood up against this; and Meshullam and Shabbethai the
 Levite helped them.
10:16 And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the
 priest [and] certain of the chief fathers were separated
 according to their fathers' houses, and all of them [expressed]
 by name; and they sat down on the first day of the tenth month
 to examine the matter.
10:17 And they ended with all the men that had taken foreign
 wives by the first day of the first month.
10:18 And among the sons of the priests there were found that
 had taken foreign wives, of the sons of Jeshua the son of
 Jozadak, and his brethren: Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib,
 and Gedaliah.
10:19 And they gave their hand to send away their wives; and
 they offered a ram of the flock, as trespass-offering for their
 guilt.
10:20 And of the children of Immer: Hanani, and Zebadiah.
10:21 And of the children of Harim: Maaseiah, and Elijah, and
 Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah.
10:22 And of the children of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah,
 Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah.
10:23 And of the Levites: Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (that
 is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.
10:24 And of the singers: Eliashib. And of the doorkeepers:
 Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.
10:25 And of Israel; of the children of Parosh: Ramiah, and
 Jizzijah, and Malchijah, and Mijamin, and Eleazar, and
 Malchijah, and Benaiah.
10:26 And of the children of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, and
 Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Elijah.
10:27 And of the children of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib,
 Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.
10:28 And of the children of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai,
 Athlai.
10:29 And of the children of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, and
 Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth.
10:30 And of the children of Pahath-Moab: Adna, and Chelal,
 Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and
 Manasseh.
10:31 And the children of Harim: Eliezer, Jishijah, Malchijah,
 Shemaiah, Simeon,
10:32 Benjamin, Malluch, Shemariah.
10:33 Of the children of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad,
 Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, Shimei.
10:34 Of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, and Uel,
10:35 Benaiah, Bediah, Cheluhu,
10:36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,
10:37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasai,
10:38 and Bani, and Binnui, Shimei,
10:39 and Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,
10:40 Machnadbai, Shashai, Sharai,
10:41 Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,
10:42 Shallum, Amariah, Joseph.
10:43 Of the children of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina,
 Jaddai, and Joel, Benaiah.
10:44 All these had taken foreign wives; and there were among
 them wives who had had children.