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Y'hoyakim was twenty-five years old when he began his reign, and he ruled for eleven years in Yerushalayim. He did what was evil from the perspective of Adonai his God.

He did what was evil from the perspective of Adonai his God. He did not humble himself before Yirmeyahu the prophet speaking on behalf of Adonai .

He also rebelled against King N'vukhadnetzar, who had made him swear loyalty to him by God; instead, he became stiffnecked and hardhearted, refusing to turn to Adonai the God of Isra'el.

Time after time, and frequently, Adonai , the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers; because he had compassion on his people and on the place where he lived.

Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Kasdim, who put their young men to the sword in the house of their sanctuary. They had no compassion on either young men or young women, old men or gray-haired; God handed all of them over to him.

All the articles in the house of God, great and small; the supplies in the house of Adonai ; and the supplies of the king and his leading men — all these he brought to Bavel.

Then they burned down the house of God, broke down the wall of Yerushalayim, put to flames all its palaces and destroyed everything in it of worth.

"Here is what Koresh king of Persia says: Adonai , the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms on earth, and he has charged me to build him a house in Yerushalayim, in Y'hudah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may Adonai his God be with him! He may go up . . . ."

Then Yeshua the son of Yotzadak with his fellow cohanim, and Z'rubavel the son of Sh'alti'el with his kinsmen, organized rebuilding the altar of the God of Isra'el; so that they could offer burnt offerings on it, as is written in the Torah of Moshe the man of God.

In the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Yerushalayim, in the second month, Z'rubavel the son of Sh'alti'el, Yeshua the son of Yotzadak, the rest of their kinsmen the cohanim and L'vi'im, and all who had come out of exile to Yerushalayim began the project. They appointed the L'vi'im aged twenty and up to direct work in the house of Adonai .

Yeshua and his sons and brothers, Kadmi'el and his sons, and Y'hudah's sons together directed the workers in the house of God; also the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their kinsmen the L'vi'im.

When the enemies of Y'hudah and Binyamin heard that the people from the exile were building a temple to Adonai the God of Isra'el,

they approached Z'rubavel and the heads of fathers' clans and said to them, "Let us build along with you; for we seek your God, just as you do; and we have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esar-Hadon king of Ashur, who brought us here."

But Z'rubavel, Yeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers' clans in Isra'el answered them, "You and we have nothing in common that you should join us in building a house for our God. We will build by ourselves for Adonai the God of Isra'el, as Koresh king of Persia ordered us to do."

So the work on the house of God in Yerushalayim ceased; it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of Daryavesh king of Persia.

The prophets Hagai and Z'kharyah the son of ‘Iddo prophesied to the Judeans in Yerushalayim and Y'hudah; they prophesied to them in the name of the God of Isra'el.

Then Z'rubavel the son of Sh'alti'el and Yeshua the son of Yotzadak began rebuilding the house of God in Yerushalayim; with them were the prophets of God, helping them.

But the eye of their God was on the leaders of the Judeans, so they didn't stop them until the matter could come before Daryavesh and a reply in writing be received.

"Let the king know that we went to the province of Y'hudah, to the house of the great God. It is being rebuilt with large stones, and timber is being set in the walls. This work is being done energetically, and it is making good progress under the direction

"They gave us this answer: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, built and finished by a great king of Isra'el.