they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders ¹  and said to them, “Let us help you build, ²  for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him ³  from the time ⁴  of King Esarhaddon ⁵  of Assyria, who brought us here.” ⁶ 

with three layers of large stones ¹  and one ²  layer of timber. The expense is to be subsidized ³  by the royal treasury. ⁴ 

People were unable to tell the difference between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly ¹  that the sound was heard a long way off.

along with all the silver and gold that you may collect ¹  throughout all the province of Babylon and the contributions of the people and the priests for the temple of their God which is in Jerusalem.

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself to the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites – men, women, and children alike – gathered around him. The people wept loudly. ¹ 

The priests: the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family ¹  of Jeshua): 973;

The temple servants: the descendants of Ziha, the descendants of Hasupha, the descendants of Tabbaoth,

The governor ¹  instructed them not to eat any of the sacred food until there was a priest who could consult ²  the Urim and Thummim.

In light of the fact that we are loyal to the king, ¹  and since it does not seem appropriate to us that the king should sustain damage, ²  we are sending the king this information ³ 

The Levites: the descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel (through the line of Hodaviah): 74.

The descendants of the servants of Solomon: the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Hassophereth, the descendants of Peruda,

¹ “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the perfect law of the God of heaven:

All their neighbors assisted ¹  them with silver utensils, ²  gold, equipment, animals, and expensive gifts, not to mention ³  all the voluntary offerings.

They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. The number of Israelites ¹  was as follows: ² 

When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin learned that the former exiles ¹  were building a temple for the Lord God of Israel,

They were hiring advisers to oppose them, so as to frustrate their plans, throughout the time ¹  of King Cyrus of Persia until the reign of King Darius ²  of Persia. ³ 

and the rest of nations whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal ¹  deported and settled in the cities ²  of Samaria and other places in Trans-Euphrates. ³ 

Now give orders that these men cease their work and that this city not be rebuilt until such time as I so instruct. ¹ 

The people ¹  of Israel – the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles ²  – observed the dedication of this temple of God with joy.

The priests, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants lived in their towns, and all the rest of Israel lived in their towns.