1 Ezra 2

1When Cyrus was reigning over the Persians in his first year,

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2'Thus says Cyrus the king of the Persians: Israel's Lord, the Lord Most High, revealed and indicated to me, the king of the inhabited world, that I should build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judea.

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3Therefore, if any of you are from His nation, may the Lord be with you, and when you go up to Jerusalem in Judea, may you build the house of the Lord of Israel. He is the Lord who dwells in Jerusalem.

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4Therefore, let as many as are living around you in various places help you with gifts of gold and silver, with horses and cattle, as well as with other things added as votive offerings for the Lord's temple in Jerusalem.'

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5Then the chiefs of the families of Judah and of the tribe of Benjamin, and the priests and Levites, and everyone whose spirit the Lord stirred up stepped forth to go up to build the Lord's house in Jerusalem.

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6Those round about whose hearts were stirred helped them with everything: with silver and gold, with horses and cattle, and with a very great number of votive offerings.

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7King Cyrus also brought forth the sacred vessels of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had carried out from Jerusalem and placed in his temple of idols.

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8Cyrus, king of the Persians, brought these out and handed them over to Mithridates, his treasurer. He, in turn, gave them to Sheshbazzar, the chief leader of Judea.

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9The number of these was as follows: one thousand gold cups, one thousand silver cups, twenty-nine silver censers,

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10thirty gold bowls, two thousand four hundred and ten silver bowls, and one thousand other vessels.

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11All the gold and silver vessels handed over totaled five thousand four hundred and sixty-nine. All these, together with the returning captives, were brought back to Jerusalem by Sheshbazzar.

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12But Bishlam, Mithridates, Tabeel, Rehum, Beltethmus, Shimshai the scribe, and the other members of their council, as well as those living in Samaria and other places, wrote a letter to Artaxerxes during the time he was king of the Persians. They wrote it against those dwelling in Judea and Jerusalem, inscribed as follows:

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13'To King Artaxerxes our lord from your servants Rehum the recorder, and Shimshai the scribe, and the other members of their council, and the judges in Coelesyria and Phoenicia:

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14Let it now be known to our lord the king that the Jews who came up from you to us went to Jerusalem to build the rebellious and evil city. They are restoring both its marketplaces and its walls and are laying a foundation for a temple.

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15If therefore this city is built and its walls completed, they will not continue to pay tribute but will also resist kings.

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16Since work is being done on the temple, we assume it best not to overlook such a matter, but to address our lord the king, that if it seems appropriate to you, this may be researched in the books of your forefathers.

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17For you will find the record of these things in the archives. You will learn that this city was rebellious and troubled both kings and cities, and that the Jews themselves are rebels. They formed military blockades in it from ancient times, which is the reason the city itself was destroyed.

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18Therefore we now make known to you, O lord our king, that if this city is built and its walls restored, you will no longer have access to Coelesyria and Phoenicia.'

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19Then the king wrote back to Rehum the recorder, to Beltethmus, to Shimshai the scribe, to the other members of their council, and to those dwelling in Samaria, Syria, and Phoenicia. He inscribed his letter as follows:

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20'I read the letter you sent to me.

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21So I commanded a search to be made. It was discovered that this city from ancient times stood in hostile array against kings, that the people within it perpetrated rebellion and war,

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22that mighty and fierce kings were ruling in Jerusalem and levying tributes from Coelesyria and Phoenicia.

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23Therefore I have now imposed orders to prevent those men from building the city,

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24to be careful not to do anything contrary to this order, and to do nothing to cause trouble for kings.'

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25After they read the letter from King Artaxerxes, Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and the other members of their council went speedily to Jerusalem. They departed with cavalry and a large number of armed soldiers formed in battle array and began to hinder the builders.

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26So the building of the temple in Jerusalem became idle until the second year of the reign of Darius king of the Persians.

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