On the first day of the first month he had determined to make ¹  the ascent from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he arrived at Jerusalem, ²  for the good hand of his God was on him.

May God who makes his name to reside there overthrow any king or nation ¹  who reaches out ²  to cause such change so as to destroy this temple of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have given orders. Let them be carried out with precision!”

Now give praise to the Lord God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the local residents ¹  and from these foreign wives.”

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

Therefore let us enact ¹  a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord, ²  and that of those who respect ³  the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law.

I have now issued a decree ¹  that anyone in my kingdom from the people of Israel – even the priests and Levites – who wishes to do so may go up with you to Jerusalem. ² 

They ¹  also asked them, “What are the names of the men who are building this edifice?”

“I also hereby issue orders as to what you are to do with those elders of the Jews in order to rebuild this temple of God. From the royal treasury, from the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men, so that there may be no interruption of the work. ¹ 

But God was watching over ¹  the elders of Judah, and they were not stopped ²  until a report could be dispatched ³  to Darius and a letter could be sent back concerning this.

“I hereby give orders that if anyone changes this directive a beam is to be pulled out from his house and he is to be raised up and impaled ¹  on it, and his house is to be reduced ²  to a rubbish heap ³  for this indiscretion. ⁴ 

We therefore are informing the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, you will not retain control ¹  of this portion of Trans-Euphrates.”

“I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue orders to all the treasurers of ¹  Trans-Euphrates, that you precisely execute all that Ezra the priestly scribe of the law of the God of heaven may request of you –

You are authorized ¹  by the king and his seven advisers to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your possession, ² 

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 

not counting ¹  their male and female servants, who numbered 7,337. They also had 200 male and female singers

Then the local people ¹  began to discourage ²  the people of Judah and to dishearten them from building.

We inquired of those elders, asking them, ‘Who gave you the authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?’

so that they may be offering incense to the God of heaven and may be praying for the good fortune of the king and his family. ¹ 

I was embarrassed to request soldiers and horsemen from the king to protect us from the enemy ¹  along the way, because we had said to the king, “The good hand of our God is on everyone who is seeking him, but his great anger ²  is against everyone who forsakes him.”

They observed the Festival of Temporary Shelters ¹  as required ²  and offered the proper number of ³  daily burnt offerings according to the requirement for each day.