Study Desk

For on the first [day] of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first [day] of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God on him.

For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Yahweh, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances.

and all the silver and gold that you shall find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill-offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem;

And the vessels that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver before the God of Jerusalem.

And whatever more shall be needful for the house of your God, which you shall have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure-house.

Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done exactly for the house of the God of heaven; for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

Then I sent for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, who were teachers.

And I sent them forth to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia; and I told them what they should say to Iddo, [and] his brothers those given [to temple service], at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.

and of those given [to temple service], whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim: all of them were mentioned by name.

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is on all those that seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all those that forsake him.

So we fasted and implored our God for this: and he was entreated of us.

and weighed to them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering for the house of our God, which the king, and his counselors, and his princes, and all Israel there present, had offered:

The sons of the captivity, that had come out of exile, offered burnt-offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and two lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering: all this was a burnt-offering to Yahweh.

For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the peoples of the lands: yes, the hand of the princes and rulers has been chief in this trespass.

and I said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my God; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our guiltiness has grown up to the heavens.

Since the days of our fathers we have been exceeding guilty to this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to plunder, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.

And now for a little moment grace has been shown from Yahweh our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our slavery.

For we are slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended loving-kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the ruins thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken your commandments,