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Then the heads of fathers' [houses] of Judah and Benjamin rose up, and the priests, and the Levites, even all whose spirit God had stirred to go up to build the house of Yahweh which is in Jerusalem.

And some of the heads of fathers' [houses], when they came to the house of Yahweh which is in Jerusalem, offered willingly for the house of God to set it up in its place:

Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak stood up, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brothers, and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt-offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.

Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those that had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began. And they appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of Yahweh.

Then Jeshua stood with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and Binnui [and] Hodaviah together, to have the oversight of the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brothers the Levites.

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the sons of the captivity were building a temple to Yahweh, the God of Israel;

then they drew near to Zerubbabel, and to the heads of fathers' [houses], and said to them, Let us build with you; for we seek your God, as you do; and we have been sacrificing to him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.

But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' [houses] of Israel, said to them, You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves together will build to Yahweh, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.

Then the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased; and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Now the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem; in the name of the God of Israel [they prophesied] to them.

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, rose up and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem; and with them were the prophets of God, helping them.

But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not make them cease, until the matter should come to Darius, and then answer should be returned by letter concerning it.

Be it known to the king, that we went into the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is built with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls; and this work goes on with diligence and prospers in their hands.

And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the slaves of the God of heaven and earth, and are building the house that was built these many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.

But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon.

But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of God.

And the gold and silver vessels also of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought into the temple of Babylon, those Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor;

and he said to him, Take these vessels, go, put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in its place.

Then the same Sheshbazzar came, and laid the foundations of the house of God which is in Jerusalem: and since that time even until now it has been in building, and yet it is not completed.

Now therefore, if it seems good to the king, let there be a search made in the king's treasure-house, which is there at Babylon, whether it is so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem; and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.