<t /><p class="bodytext">Then they came very close to him and said, &#8220;We will build sheep folds here for our flocks and cities for our families,<n id="1" />

<p class="poetry">&#8220;The bricks have fallen,p> <p class="poetry">but we will rebuild with chiseled stone;p> <p class="poetry">the sycamore fig trees have been cut down,p> <p class="poetry">but we will replace them with cedars.&#8221;<n id="1" />p>

Then they said, &#8220;Come, let&#8217;s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens<n id="1" /> so that<n id="2" /> we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise<n id="3" /> we will be scattered<n id="4" /> across the face of the entire earth.&#8221;p>

Now the people were offering sacrifices at the high places,<n id="1" /> because in those days a temple had not yet been built to honor the <sc>Lordsc>.<n id="2" />

As the temple was being built, only stones shaped at the quarry<n id="1" /> were used; the sound of hammers, pickaxes, or any other iron tool was not heard at the temple while it was being built.

<p class="poetry">If she is a wall,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">we will build on her a battlement<n id="2" /> of silver;p> <p class="poetry">but if she is a door,p> <p class="poetry">we will barricade<n id="3" /> her with boards<n id="4" /> of cedar.<n id="5" />p>

He said to the people of Judah:<n id="1" /> &#8220;Let&#8217;s build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates.<n id="2" /> The land remains ours because we have followed<n id="3" /> the <sc>Lordsc> our God and he has made us secure on all sides.&#8221;<n id="4" /> So they built the cities<n id="5" /> and prospered.p>

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;