Ezra 4:2
they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders and said to them,“Let us help you build, for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him from the time of King Esarhaddon of Assyria, who brought us here.”
they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders and said to them,“Let us help you build, for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him from the time of King Esarhaddon of Assyria, who brought us here.”
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3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them,“You have no right to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the LORD God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us.”
4 Then the local people began to discourage the people of Judah and to dishearten them from building.
1 Opposition to the Building Efforts When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin learned that the former exiles were building a temple for the LORD God of Israel,
2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem. The prophets of God were with them, supporting them.
3 At that time Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and their colleagues came to them and asked,“Who gave you authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?”
4 They also asked them,“What are the names of the men who are building this edifice?”
8 Let it be known to the king that we have gone to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great God. It is being built with large stones, and timbers are being placed in the walls. This work is being done with all diligence and is prospering in their hands.
9 We inquired of those elders, asking them,‘Who gave you the authority to rebuild this temple and to complete this structure?’
10 We also inquired of their names in order to inform you, so that we might write the names of the men who were their leaders.
11 They responded to us in the following way:‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple which was previously built many years ago. A great king of Israel built it and completed it.
12 But after our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he delivered them into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this temple and exiled the people to Babylon.
13 But in the first year of King Cyrus of Babylon, King Cyrus enacted a decree to rebuild this temple of God.
2 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:“‘The LORD God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
3 Anyone of his people among you(may his God be with him!) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may build the temple of the LORD God of Israel– he is the God who is in Jerusalem.
4 Anyone who survives in any of those places where he is a resident foreigner must be helped by his neighbors with silver, gold, equipment, and animals, along with voluntary offerings for the temple of God which is in Jerusalem.’”
5 The Exiles Prepare to Return to Jerusalem Then the leaders of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and the Levites– all those whose mind God had stirred– got ready to go up in order to build the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem.
6 All their neighbors assisted them with silver utensils, gold, equipment, animals, and expensive gifts, not to mention all the voluntary offerings.
7 Then King Cyrus brought out the vessels of the LORD’s temple which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem and had displayed in the temple of his gods.
8 King Cyrus of Persia entrusted them to Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the leader of the Judahite exiles.
7 Preparations for Rebuilding the Temple So they provided money for the masons and carpenters, and food, beverages, and olive oil for the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar timber from Lebanon to the seaport at Joppa, in accord with the edict of King Cyrus of Persia.
8 In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work, along with the rest of their associates, the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed the Levites who were at least twenty years old to take charge of the work on the LORD’s temple.
9 So Jeshua appointed both his sons and his relatives, Kadmiel and his sons(the sons of Yehudah), to take charge of the workers in the temple of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their relatives the Levites.
1 The Altar is Rebuilt When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites were living in their towns, the people assembled in Jerusalem.
2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his priestly colleagues and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his colleagues started to build the altar of the God of Israel so they could offer burnt offerings on it as required by the law of Moses the man of God.
15 He said to him,“Take these vessels and go deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt in its proper location.”
16 Then this Sheshbazzar went and laid the foundations of the temple of God in Jerusalem. From that time to the present moment it has been in the process of being rebuilt, although it is not yet finished.’
17 “Now if the king is so inclined, let a search be conducted in the royal archives there in Babylon in order to determine whether King Cyrus did in fact issue orders for this temple of God to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us a decision concerning this matter.”
4 “Even so, take heart, Zerubbabel,” decrees the LORD.“Take heart, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And take heart all you citizens of the land,” decrees the LORD,“and begin to work. For I am with you,” decrees the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
7 Leave the work on this temple of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this temple of God in its proper place.
14 The elders of the Jews continued building and prospering, while at the same time Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo continued prophesying. They built and brought it to completion by the command of the God of Israel and by the command of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
68 When they came to the LORD’s temple in Jerusalem, some of the family leaders offered voluntary offerings for the temple of God in order to rebuild it on its site.
14 So the LORD energized and encouraged Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the whole remnant of the people. They came and worked on the temple of their God, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
15 This took place on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month of King Darius’ second year.
2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech and their companions to seek the LORD’s favor
9 Although we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our servitude. He has extended kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, in that he has revived us to restore the temple of our God and to raise up its ruins and to give us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
1 The Names of the Returning Exiles These are the people of the province who were going up, from the captives of the exile whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had forced into exile in Babylon. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own city.
2 They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. The number of Israelites was as follows:
17 Then I said to them,“You see the problem that we have: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned. Come on! Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that this reproach will not continue.”
18 Then I related to them how the good hand of my God was on me and what the king had said to me. Then they replied,“Let’s begin rebuilding right away!” So they readied themselves for this good project.
12 Now let the king be aware that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and odious city. They are completing its walls and repairing its foundations.
10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and other places in Trans-Euphrates.
20 I responded to them by saying,“The God of heaven will prosper us. We his servants will start the rebuilding. But you have no just or ancient right in Jerusalem.”
23 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:‘The LORD God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Anyone of his people among you may go up there and may the LORD his God be with him!”
9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this temple, and his hands will complete it.” Then you will know that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has sent me to you.
2 “Ask the following questions to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the remnant of the people:
2 The Indifference of the People This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has said:“These people have said,‘The time for rebuilding the LORD’s temple has not yet come.’”
22 They observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with joy, for the LORD had given them joy and had changed the opinion of the king of Assyria toward them, so that he assisted them in the work on the temple of God, the God of Israel.