They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.p> <p class="bodytext">The number of Israelites<n id="1" /> was as follows:<n id="2" />p>

Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak<n id="1" /> and his priestly colleagues<n id="2" /> and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his colleagues<n id="3" /> started to build<n id="4" /> the altar of the God of Israel so they could offer burnt offerings on it as required by<n id="5" /> the law of Moses the man of God.

they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders<n id="1" /> and said to them, &#8220;Let us help you build,<n id="2" /> for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him<n id="3" /> from the time<n id="4" /> of King Esarhaddon<n id="5" /> of Assyria, who brought us here.&#8221;<n id="6" />

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, &#8220;You have no right<n id="1" /> to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.&#8221;

In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem,<n id="1" /> in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work,<n id="2" /> along with the rest of their associates,<n id="3" /> the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed<n id="4" /> the Levites who were at least twenty years old<n id="5" /> to take charge of the work on the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple.